


Unexpected return in winter

by Magnonette



Series: A lot can happen to Snufkin [7]
Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Baby Snusmumriken | Snufkin, Cute, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Good Parent Joxaren | The Joxter, Snusmumriken | Snufkin Has Paws and a Tail, Snusmumriken | Snufkin is a Cat, deaged, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-01-15 00:21:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21244418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Magnonette/pseuds/Magnonette
Summary: When Joxter meet Snufkin on the road during winter and accidentally gets him cursed by a witch, he decides to head back to MoominValley to ask the Moomins to help him find a way to lift the curse.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay! So this wasn't the one I was planning to upload here first but I couldn't stop myself from starting it and sharing it.

Joxter hurried, walking as quick as he could with all the snow around him. The snow was up to his knees and it was slowing him down much more than he would have liked. Now, usually, he wouldn't mind too much, although he did prefer warmer weather he never really hated the winter, but now wasn't anything usual.

Snufkin run behind him, stumbling on the slippery snow now and again. At some point, he had decided to stop following his father's steps to just hop on the higher snow. He was light enough that it didn't really gave under him, letting him walk next to his father's knees when he finally caught up with him.

His father looked down at him, a little worried that he wasn't safe behind him. Snufkin looked up at him when he noticed him staring and beamed, chuckling happily as he walked as if balanced on a ledge of snow. Joxter couldn't help but smile back at him, his eyes expressing all the fondness he had for his son. 

He then forced himself to focus on which way they were going, making sure to not get lost in the snow was really important. It wasn't the time to get lost. He had to get them back to Moomin Valley, to MoominHouse.

When he saw the familiar blue house farther ahead, he couldn't help the sigh of relief that excaped him. He glanced back, making sure Snufkin was still following as he was walking slower than him. Snufkin was still there, still looking much too happy to be walking on snow. Joxter waited a little for him to catch up before he started walking down the path to MoominHouse.

He stopped in front of the front door, hesitating for a moment. When he finally got the courage to reach to knock at the door, he stopped short, hearing a little yelp behind him. He quickly turned around to see what was wrong, knowing fully well that it had to be Snufkin, only to see his little son almost burred in snow.

The snow under Snufkin had collapsed under his weight, only his head and little arms were out of the snow, trying to get free but only managing to sink deeper under it. Joxter huffed quietly, going over to his son. He grabbed him under his arms and lifted him up in the hair and above his face, smiling warmly at the little beast. This one only giggled happily, beaming at his father, his tail swaying under him.

Joxter laughed a little himself at his son as he put him back on the path he had made. He quickly brushed his son's clothes, trying to get rid of most of the snow, all the while instructing him to stay next to him now. Snufkin pouted as he wanted to have more fun in the snow and as he wasn't really one to follow orders, but he nodded so Joxter knew he would obey. He gently stroke his son's hair, laughing when this one made an annoyed noise, although Joxter could still see his tail swaying happily behind him.

Joxter got back up and proceeded to walk back to the Moomins' front door. He glanced back to make sure his son was with him this time before knocking softly on the door. He waited for a few seconds, hoping silently that they had heard him, before a realization hit him.

He was so focused on getting to MoominHouse before the night fell that he had forgotten that it was still winter. They would still be hibernating for at least another week.

Joxter wasn't sure what he should do anymore. Should he try to knock again, louder this time? Should he try to get in and make himself and his son comfortable without waiting for the Moomins to wake up? It wasn't like it would be any different from any other time he came by unannounced and invited himself in without anyone noticing until they tripped on him as he was napping on the floor. Should he give up and try to find a cave or some warmer shelter where they could stay until Spring was there?

He didn't had time to think more about his options as he heard noises from inside. Someone seemed to be moving, going down the stairs. Joxter perked up, relieved and happy that someone had woken up without him needing to do anything more.

The door opened and Joxter was met with a surprised MoominMamma. They just stared at each other for a long minute before MoominMamma finally spoke.

"Well, hello Joxter." She greeted with a warm smile. "It's a surprise to see you so here so early. We hadn't even woken up yet."

"Hello MoominMamma. Sorry to wake you up so early." He apologized, a little uncomfortable.

"Is there anything wrong?" MoominMamma frowned, chuckling at the face Joxter made, flinching a little in front of her. "You never knock at the door nor wait for anyone to invite you in usually." She explained.

"Ah. Yeah." He felt a little embarrassed, starting to wonder if he shouldn't just have gone inside without waiting like he would have done any other day. "Yes, I've got a little problem." He admitted quietly, looking down at his son who was now hiding behind his legs, his little head peeking out and looking up at MoominMamma with wide and curious eyes.

MoominMamma followed his eyes and gasped quietly in surprise as she was met with a young little Snufkin staring curiously up at her.

"Snufkin?" She asked in disbelief. "What happened? Why is he so young?" She continued, not taking her eyes of the little mumrik who had quickly retreated his head back behind his legs.

"Well, hm..." Joxter wasn't sure how to explain the situation but he had to try. "I might have gotten him cursed by a witch who wanted to punish me a little." He said quietly, looking away from the moomin as she stared at him with suspicious eyes. He was feeling a little guilty about it all, and rather embarrassed to have to admit that it was his fault. Okay, maybe no 'a little' guilty. He was feeling extremely guilty to be the reason his son was in such a state.

"I see." MoominMamma simply said before kneeling to get at Snufkin's level. "Hello there. I'm MoominMamma. You don't need to be scared of me young one." She held out a paw toward him.

Snufkin peeking from behind his father's legs, his tiny little hands gripping tight on his pants, looked at her and at her paw for a moment. Then, after glancing up at his father and receiving a small smile and a nod, he stepped out from behind him and took her paw with one of his. She chuckled softly before reaching to caress his cheek gently with her other paw. Snufkin seemed confused by the gesture but also happy, if the movement of his tail was saying anything.

She let got of him and stood back up to invite them in. When she turned back, after closing the door behind them, she noticed the little mumrik, still clinging to his father's leg, watching her with wide, curious and excited eyes. She smiled gently at him, chuckling a little when he pressed his face against his father as he blushed softly.

They all jumped when they heard someone calling to MoominMamma, turning to see Moomintroll coming groggily down the stairs.

"Mamma?" He asked rubbing his eyes. "Who was at the door?"

"Hello Moomin." MoominMamma greeted before answering his question. "We have some unexpected guests." She simply said.

As Moomin finally looked over at her, his eyes got wide, surprised at the sight of Joxter and, a little boy that looks way too much like Snufkin to be a coincidence. He almost fell down the last few steps in shock, grabbing the railling just in time to avoid a nasty fall.

The Joxter and MoominMamma laughed a little at his reaction, and Joxter could feel Snufkin hide behind him again, his little paws tightening around the fabric of his pants. Moomin blushed slightly as he stumbled down the last of the stairs.

"Is that?" He asked as he looked down at Snufkin in confusion.

Joxter hummed quietly, nodding when Moomin looked at him in disbelief. MoominMamma announced that she was going to go make some tea and pancakes for everyone, leaving the three alone as she headed to the kitchen.

"So..." Moomin started, looking down at the little Snufkin, still not sure how to act about it all.

"So?" Joxter repeated, feeling a little tense.

"What exactly happened?" Moomin couldn't take his eyes of his baby friend. "How did he end up like this?"

Joxter flinched slightly at the question. Telling MoominMamma was one thing, she was always understanding and he had known that she wouldn't say anything about it, she wouldn't get angry at him for getting his son cursed. But now, he had to tell Moomintroll, Snufkin's best friend (and crush), and he wasn't sure that he would react as gently as his mother.

Joxter stayed silent, trying to find a good way to explain it to the young Moomintroll. This one just waited for him to talk, understanding that he needed a little time, like his son when he had to talk about something he didn't really want to talk about, or when he needed to explain something but had to think about the best way to do it.

MoominMamma saved the Joxter from his explanations when she called in from the kitchen doorway.

"How about we wait a little for that. I'm sure it will be easier once everyone has eaten something." She said, giving Joxter a wink and disappearing in the kitchen for a moment before coming back with some tea and some lemonade for Snufkin.

Moomin accepted the excuse and went to sit at the table to drink his cup, still staring at Snufkin. Joxter sighed in relief, turning around and kneeling in front of his son before lifting him up to carry him in his arms to the table. Snufkin clung to his father, watching Moomin with his curious eyes.

He seemed so small and so shy like that, Moomin thought. So cute.  
He drunk his tea, trying not to feel embarrassed but unable to stop himself from blushing softly. Thankfully, no one noticed as his mother was in the kitchen, making the pancakes, and Joxter was setting Snufkin on a chair in front of Moomin so he could drink his lemonade. Snufkin him was alternating between looking at Moomin and looking up at his father, looking a little confused.

Joxter sat in the chair next to Snufkin, close enough to reach him if needed, and began drinking his own cup. They all stayed silent, Moomin and Joxter watching carefully as Snufkin reached up to get hold of his glass of lemonade with his tiny paws. He had to stand on his chair to get to it, his arms just at the level of the table. Joxter seemed to hesitate for a moment on whether or not he should help Snufkin, but decided Snufkin wouldn't want his help, as he was really stubborn.

MoominMamma came back after a few more minutes with the pancakes. She served everyone and sat at the table with them. They ate mostly in silence, all of them occasionally glancing at Snufkin who was struggling to eat his food but refused all help Joxter or MoominMamma offered. 

They waited until they were all done to finally get some explanations on what had happened. Joxter explained everything as Snufkin curled next to him on the couch, sleeping like a baby cat against his father.

He explained how he crossed path with his son on his winter travel and decided to stay with him for a while, maybe coming back with him to MoominValley if Snufkin wasn't against having him along all the way.  
He then proceeded to explained how they came across some weird woods that a witch had claimed her own. They had a bit of an argument with her, well Joxter had as Snufkin was ready to leave her alone and go on his way.  
When Joxter finally decided to follow his son, the witch stopped them both, not wanting to let them both go without giving Joxter a lesson for annoying her. She had cast a spell on Snufkin before disappearing as they were distracted, leaving a shocked Joxter to discover that his son had been turned back into a child.  
He then had to take care of him as best as he could, having to take back the role of father that he never really had before, as he hadn't known he had a son until a few years ago and had met him.

"Well, you seemed to have managed well on your own." MoominMamma noted with a gentle smile. 

"Did you really had to argue like that with the witch?" Moomin asked a little bitterly. "You could have left her alone like Snufkin told you."

Joxter flinched at the bitterness in his voice. Of course, he had known that Moomin wouldn't like that, but still, he had never heard Moomin sound anything like that before. It made him feel even more uncomfortable.

"Now, Moomin, what is done is done. We can't do anything to change that. And we can't change Joxter's nature as well." She teased lightly.

"Anyway, I came here because I thought maybe you could help me." Joxter tried to ignore the comments. "I don't know how to take care of a child. And I don't know how to get him back to normal."

"Why, of course we'll help you." MoominMamma cheered. "And it looks like you did very well on your own."

"How do we get ride of a curse?" Moomin asked suddenly.

"Well I don't know yet." MoominMamma said as calm as always. "But I'm sure we will find a way. Maybe I can see if there is anything interesting in my grandmother's recipe book."

"Do you think there could be something against a curse in-" Moomin was cut off as Little My came in the room.

"What's all this noise about!" She exclaimed with her usual brashness. "Joxter?" She asked, before looking at the small mumrik stirring next to him, slowly waking up from the noise she made and groaning softly. "Is that Snufkin?" She asked, confused and surprised as Snufkin hid his head under his father's arm at the noise.

"Hush Little My! You're scaring him!" Moomin scolded.

"Now calm down you two." MoominMamma intervened before Little My could argue with Moomin. "Yes Little My. It is Snufkin."

"But what happened?" She asked, at least making an effort to keep her voice a little quieter.

"A nasty witch cursed him because she got in a argument with the Joxter." Moomin explained as Joxter sighed quietly, stroking his son's hair gently.

Snufkin was looking at Little My now, looking a little scared as she made her way to the couch and hopped next to him, leaning forward and frowning as she examined him. Joxter looked down at her, a silent warning in his eyes. She just huffed and jumped off, going over to MoominMamma.

"Mamma! I'm hungry!" She complained, of course she had smelled the pancakes, that was probably what had really woken her up.

"I made some more pancakes just in case anyone else would wake up." MoominMamma chuckled as she got up. "I'll bring you yours."

Little My jumped on a chair, and crossed her arms, staring at Joxter and Snufkin. She didn't want to show it but, she didn't know how to act. 

She had never seen her brother when he was young and she was used to how he was now. So, now, seeing him back into a child, curled up against his father, letting him stroke his hair, and looking at her with his scared but curious eyes, it was making her feel a little awkward. 

She hadn't even noticed before but, his tail was visible now. Usually he would always hide it under his smock as he didn't like the idea of the others knowing how he felt, but it seemed that baby Snufkin didn't care as much.

None of them talked for a while, as MoominMamma brought pancakes for Little My. They just stared at Snufkin, wondering how they could make him come back to normal.

Eventually, Snufkin, who probably wasn't liking the attention, stood up on the couch and leaned his little arms on the window sill, facing away from them, only letting them see his tail moving a little nervously as he looked through the window.

"How about you two take him outside for a while?" MoominMamma suggested at Moomin and Little My. "I'm sure it would make him feel better to be out."

"But it's cold out!" Little My complained.

"But you know how Snufkin is, dear. He doesn't like being inside too much." MoomimMamma explained. "He does look like he would prefer being out right now too."

"I'll go with him." Moomin said as he got up from his chair. "Little My?" He asked as he saw her hopping off her chair.

"Alright! Fine! I'll come!" She huffed.

"Alright then. But be careful out there." MoominMamma smiled as Snufkin turned around, his eyes filled with stars and tail swaying happily, a big smile spreading across his face.

She gave them all some warmer clothes, and watched as Snufkin looked at his father, like he was asking him if it was alright to go. Joxter nodded at him, patting his hair as he mumbled a "Be careful kiddo."

With that Moomin, Little My and Snufkin went out, Moomin carrying Snufkin in his arms as the snow had built up again at the door. MoominMamma was left alone with a worried Joxter who was looking anxiously out the window at the kids as the walked a little farther away from the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really had that idea for weeks and had to stop myself from starting it because of the two other moomin fics that I am already writing, but I could stop myself. I needed to write baby Snuf and Joxter. Joxter having a second chance to be a father but with no idea how to be one so he gets to the Moomins for help.  
We need the good father Joxter and baby Snuf content!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who needs a cute baby Snufkin and a blushing Moomin?

Joxter observed the three of them disappearing in the white of the snow.

"Don't worry. I'm sure they'll be fine." MoominMamma reassured gently as she sat down on a chair and started to sew some small green clothes. "Moomin and Little My will take good care of him."

"I'm sure Moomin will." Joxter smiled nervously at her. "I'm more worried about Little My."

"You know her. She won't do anything to put her brother in danger." She chuckled. "Not when he's so small and cute."

Joxter smiled at her, finally letting himself relax a little. He hadn't realized how tense he was until now. As he finally let go of some of the tension he had held ever since Snufkin had been turned back to a child, he felt a wave of exhaustion come over him. He yawned, still looking out the window.

"You should take a nap. They'll be fine." MoominMamma offered, a knowing look on her face. "I'll take care of everything, don't worry." She said when he stared at her.

Joxter thought for a moment, his gaze drifting from her to the window now and again, before he finally nodded. He made himself comfortable on the couch and pulled his hat over his face, out of habits.

MoominMamma smiled fondly at him as his breathing evened out. She'd never seen him so exhausted and so worried, though she could understand why he would feel this way in this situation. She silently went back to her sewing, thinking of what she could make that would be warm but worn out enough for the young mumrik.

Outside, Moomin guided Snufkin, who had been put back down on the snow, and Little My to the bridge. Snufkin was walking behind them, enjoying himself in the snow just like ha had with his father before, under the worried eyes of Moomin. Little My was not far from him, walking slowly to be close to her brother in case something happened.

"What shall we do?" Moomin asked as he waited for them on the bridge.

"I thought you had at least an idea." Little My huffed.

"Well, I'm not used to taking care of a child in winter." He said defensively.

"Well, me neither!" She retorted crossing her arms.

The two looked at each other for a moment, until Little My finally came up with something.

"We should go see Too-Ticky." She said. "Maybe she can help us find something to do. And maybe she will have an idea of how to get him back to normal." She continued, turning to Snufkin who had just caught up with them and was looking up at them with his wide eyes, confused as to why they had stopped to look at him.

"You're right." Moomin said, suddenly more cheerful. "I'm sure she can help us. Let's go."

He started walking again, more happily. He was really hoping Too-Ticky could help them figure things out. Little My huffed but followed him, glancing quickly behind her to make sure her brother was following as well.

As they walked toward the beach house, Moomin and Little My started to debate on how they could get him back to normal. They glanced back every now and then to make sure Snufkin was still there and was alright.

They were arguing over going off in the south to see the witch that had cursed him and to force her to remove the curse when they heard a small yelp behind them. They immediately turned around, worrying even more when they couldn't see Snufkin anywhere.

They went back on their tracks, looking around rapidly to try to spot the little mumrik.   
It was Little My who noticed the hole first. 

There was a hole in the snow and, when they approached, they could see their baby friend inside, trying to reach out to get out. He wasn't tall enough to get out by himself as the snow was much higher than him and only collapsed more around him as he tried to claw his way back up.

Moomin hurried to help Snufkin out as Little My huffed, but he could still see her smiling fondly at her brother when he glanced back.

"He's even more clumsy than usual." She huffed as she started walking ahead.

Moomin didn't say anything, just huffing as he took Snufkin in his arms again.  
He was surprised to see that his friend didn't try to get away, accepting rather easily to be carried again by the troll. 

At least that's what he thought at first, until Snufkin started twisting in his arms. Moomintroll was about to put him back down when Snufkin freed himself from his arms and started climbing on his shoulders. The young mumrik made himself comfortable, sitting on the troll's shoulder and putting his little paws on his head, close to his ears and leaning so that he chin was resting on his head.

Moomintroll was startled by his actions and quickly blushed when he realized what Snufkin was doing. He had never thought his friend could be this cute. He looked at the little mymble who was staring back at him, feeling himself blush even more. Little My couldn't help but laugh maniacally.

"Oh! Sh- Shush Little My!" Moomin stuttered.

Surprisingly, she obeyed, her laughing dying down to soft giggles. He walked passed her, leading the way to the beach again. He couldn't see it but, behind him, Little My was grinning widely and fondly at the two of them.

She wouldn't say it out loud but, she actually found her baby brother to be really cute like that. She wouldn't get tired of seeing her little brother be cute and Moomin blushing more and more as he looked at him. And seeing Snufkin like that, with his head and his little paws resting on top of Moomin's head, between his ears, she couldn't help but smile at his adorableness.

When they arrived at the bath house, Moomin still carrying Snufkin on his shoulders and still trying not to blush too much, they knocked at the door. When no one answered, they went inside only to see that nobody was there.

"She must be fishing." Little My shrugged.

Moomin nodded slowly, careful not to move to quickly to not hurt the Snufkin on his head, who giggled softly between his ears at the movement, making him a new blush appear on the troll's face at the adorable sound directly in his ears.

They walked out again, heading to the hole in the ice that was the sea. Like always, there was a ladder leading under it, where they found Too-Ticky fishing. She noticed them and waved at them, stopping for a moment of confusion as she saw Snufkin.

"Hello Too-Ticky." Moomin cheered, happy to see her.

It was a little weird not seeing Snufkin, but he could feel him ducking his head behind his, his little paws gripping the fur between his ears more tightly as he hid shyly from the new face in front of them.

"Hello there." She greeted, ignoring Little My who was laughing at her brother again. She didn't asked anything yet, letting them explain if and when they wanted.

"We may have a bit of a problem." Moomin said, still a little hesitant even when she nodded, ready to listen and to try to help them if she could.

"My stupid little brother got cursed by a witch because of his dumb father." Little My explained before Moomin could say anything. "Now we're stuck with a baby version of him." She huffed, trying to sound annoyed at him but not really managing to be convincing for the two other that just stared at each other before chuckling.

"I see." Too-Ticky smiled, looking up at Snufkin, still hiding behind Moomin. "So, that really is Snufkin then?"

"Yes." Moomin sighed.

"So, what do you want me to do for you?" She asked, pulling her line and standing up.

"We want to know if you know how to break that spell." Little My huffed.

"We thought maybe you could have an idea of what we should do." Moomin added.

"Hm... I'm not sure of how I could help you." She said calmly, grabbing the bucket with the fish she had caught and walking to the ladder. "How about I make you some tea? We can try to think about a solution then."

"Sure." Little My mumbled, following her out of the hole.

Moomin followed after them, being very careful not to make Snufkin fall off his shoulders. They all walked back to the bath house where Too-Ticky prepared some tea for everyone. When it was done, they all sat on the floor, drinking their tea and trying to figure out what to do next for Snufkin. This one had already finished his tea and seemed eager to go back outside to play.

"Little My how about you go outside with him." Moomin offered as he watched Snufkin looking at the door longingly.

"Why me?" Little My complained, not really convincing the other two.

"Because you're his sister." Moomin huffed. "And because you're not helping anyway."

"What? I'm helping!" She argued, before meeting Too-Ticky's eyes. "Fine! Whatever! Don't complain when you realize that you can't find any idea without me!" She huffed. "Come on Snufkin! We're going out!"

Snufkin's head snapped towards her, stars in the eyes and tail swaying excitedly against the floorboards. He stood up quickly, letting her wrap his scarf back around his neck and helping him put on his warmer coat that MoominMamma had found for him.

"Let's go!" She exclaimed as she led him outside.

Too-Ticky and Moomin chuckled as they watched the two walking away.

"I never thought I'd get to see Little My act like a big sister one day." Too-Ticky mused.

"Well it's hard for her to be a big sister when her little brother is much bigger than her and knows better than her how to take care of himself." Moomin joked.

Too-Ticky smiled, before her face went back to a neutral expression as she started to think again. 

"So that witch cursed him to punish his father right?" She asked after a moment, waiting for Moomin to nod before she continued. "If it's a witch's curse then I can only think of another witch to help to turn him back to normal."

"You mean that we should ask the witch?" Moomin exclaimed in disbelief. "But she'll never accept to help us." He slumped in defeat.

"Well, maybe, but I don't think that there would be any other way. Or at least, that's the only one I can think of." She argued.

"You really think that it's the only way?" Moomin whined.

"There could be another way, but I can't really think of any." She explained. "You know, Moomintroll, this kind of curses are never permanent. Maybe if you just wait long enough he will be back to normal without any help. But we don't know how long that could be. Could be days or months, maybe even more. Who knows?"

"The witch might know." Moomin mumbled.

"You have nothing to loose by trying to ask her." She put a paw on his shoulder. "Even if she can't help, she might tell you how long it will last."

"I suppose you're right." Moomin sighed, before looking back up at her and smiling. "Thank you Too-Ticky."

"I'm always happy to be of help." She smiled gently.

While they were talking, Little My took her brother outside, huffing as they walked off the dock. She wasn't ready to admit it out loud but, she really did enjoy the idea of spending some time with her baby brother, curious to see how he acted as a kid and what she had missed of him growing up. She was also really happy to be able to get back her role of big sister now that he was young again. She wasn't going to let the occasion run passed her.

"Hey! Be careful! I'm not responsible if you hurt yourself!" She called out as Snufkin started to run about on the white beach.

Snufkin either didn't hear her, or just ignored her, as he started to walk to the icy sea. He stopped at the edge of the freezing water, looking at the ice before testing his weight carefully on it, putting on foot and retreating it quickly before putting it again, then adding his other foot, so he was standing on the ice. He took a few experimental steps, looking down at his feet with each one he took. When he seemed sure that it wouldn't break under him, he started running on it, letting himself slide on the surface happily.

Little My watched him from the beach, huffing but not really able to hide the smile that was growing on her face as she watched him and heard Snufkin's happy giggles. He really seemed to be enjoying himself.

She had a thought then, she had never seen Snufkin this happy and careless, and, she could hardly believe that he had been quite like that when he was young and alone on the road. But then, did this meant that this young Snufkin could be happy and careless only because he knew that he was safe and around people that cared for him?

She didn't really had the time to think more about it as she saw Snufkin loose his balance and fall, sliding on the ice on his back. That, in itself, would have been fine, if it wasn't for the fact that he was sliding right towards the hole in the ice.

She immediately sprung into action, running to him and grabbing him just in time as he was falling in. Had she not grabbed him in time, he would have fallen straight into the freezing water bellow. She hauled him back next to her. She huffed as he sat down next to the hole.

"What did I told you?" Little My scolded loudly, her hands on her hips as she stared at Snufkin, sitting on the ice in front of her. "What would have happened if you'd fallen in the water, huh? You'd gotten yourself sick! Or worst you could have hurt yourself! And I would have been responsible for that!"

She tried, surprisingly, to calm herself a little, watching her little brother look at her with big and scared eyes before looking away and pouting, his little paws staying gently on the ice in front of him as he clearly tried not to cry.

"I told you to be careful." She sighed as she knelt in front of him to be at the same level as him. "I know you don't like to listen to order, but I'm your big sister, and I'm supposed to be taking care of you. I can't do that if you don't listen to me. And I don't want you to get hurt or sick under my watch. What will the other think if you get hurt, huh? What will your father say? He'll be very worried and probably angry at me." The last part was muffled, her voice lower as she imagined how Joxter would react if Snufkin had hurt himself under her watch. 

Snufkin glanced back at her for a moment before lowering his head. "Sorry." He mumbled into his small scarf. "I'll listen." He promised in his tiny voice, almost too quiet to be heard through the thick wool of his scarf.

Little My sighed as she got to her feet. She looked back down at her little brother, hesitating for a moment before reaching out to him. He looked up, a little confused. He stared at the hand she was offering him for a moment before finally deciding to take it, still visibly unsure of what was happening. He was even more lost when she squeezed his paw gently in hers before pulling him to his feet slowly, not letting go of his paw as she led them to the snowy shore. He followed obediently, seemingly finally ready to listen to her and obey.

As they stepped on the snow, Little My being really careful with each step and making sure that her brother was following close so they wouldn't be engulfed in it as they walked, Moomin came out of the wooden bath house, running towards them as he waved back to Too-Ticky as he left.

Little My and Snufkin laughed as they watch the clumsy troll slipping on the icy snow of the dock and falling on his behind with a soft 'pomf'. Well Little My's laugh was more of a cackle.   
Moomin quickly got back up, laughing embarrassingly as he reassured Too-Ticky that he was fine, ignoring the way she smiled at him as he continued to make his way to the two others, making sure not to slip on the path this time.

Little My was still cackling, mocking him and his clumsiness, only stopping when she received a ball of snow in the face, silencing her immediately. The snow covering her face slowly slid down, letting appear her glaring eyes, stuck on the young and smug troll a few feet in front of her. When she bent down to get some snow, it was Moomin's cue to start running, picking up the still softly laughing Snufkin as he passed by Little My, only dodging her first snowball just before it could hit his snout.

They made their way back to the house, Little My running after Moomin and throwing snowballs as quickly and as precisely as she could as he continued to run ahead of her, laughing and carrying an equally giggly Snufkin in his arms, shielding him from any possible snowball that could touch him. Little My was able to get a few hits on him as they ran, covering his back with small patches of snow that stuck to his fur.

They had to stop as they arrived at MoominHouse. MoominMamma opened the door for them, signaling gently for them to be quiet as they were still laughing. 

The last snowball Little My threw almost hit her in the snout, crashing on the blue wall next to her. Little My stopped dead in her tracks, looking at MoominMamma for a moment. This one only chuckled softly before ushering them all inside.

She motioned towards a sleeping Joxter as they entered, explaining quietly that they shouldn't make too much noise and should let him sleep. She helped them out of their coats, helping Moomin brush off the bits of snow still stuck in his fur.

As she was helping Moomin, Snufkin started to walk towards the couch where his father was napping, his hat over his face, one arm behind his head as the other stayed on his stomach. Little My, who had been making fun of Moomin until now, noticed her brother and went to stop him, only leaving him when MoominMamma motioned for her that it was fine.

They watched quietly as the small mumrik walked silently to his father, climbing up on the couch and, carefully, onto his father's stomach. He curled up like a cat, settling himself above where Joxter's hand was resting, and closed his eyes, ready for a nap on his father's stomach.

Nobody could see Joxter's smile, as Snufkin made himself comfortable on him, hidden by his hat. Joxter's hand lifted slowly to rest on top of Snufkin's small body, making the small boy smile as well as he relaxed, falling quickly asleep and ignoring the three other pairs of eyes still looking at them from the other end of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for being absent for so long.  
I really hoped that I could maybe write and post the second chapter during november but it appears that writing a novel is much more tiring that writing a fic and takes a lot of time and energy.  
I'm still happy with what I was able to write during that time for this fic and I was honestly surprised when I came back to it yesterday when I realized how little I had left to write for this part.  
I like how this one came out and I hope you liked it as well.  
I have no idea how long it will be until the next chapter, it could be days, weeks or even more than a month, I really don't know. The only thing I know is that I won't stop writing this fic or any of the others that are still waiting to be continued and posted here. I'm not one to leave a story without an end to it so don't worry, I'm not dead, I'm not giving up on this and I'll be back to continued it. You just gotta be patient sometime. 
> 
> Sorry I'm rambling. I really hope you liked it so far. I'll try not to be too long for the next chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More cuteness incoming.

Joxter woke up during the night, feeling well rested, although he could easily go back to sleep, he was really hungry now. It seemed he had slept through dinner, which was unusual as the smell of food usually always woke him up. As he opened an eyes and glanced down at the comfortable weight on stomach, he found the explanation. 

He'd forgotten that his little baby boy was sleeping on him, and how the two of them, who were usually such light sleepers, were more like heavy sleepers when they were in a safe place like MoominHouse. Oh, and how could he not sleep when he had such a cute angel resting on top of him? He really didn't want to wake him up, as Snufkin was still sleeping soundly.

His stomach gurgled loudly, shaking softly the little mumrik on top of it but failing to rouse him from his sleep. Joxter chuckled quietly, the movement making Snufkin curl tighter but not waking yet. Joxter, reluctantly, carefully took hold of his little boy, trying to lift him up without waking him as he seemed decided on staying asleep, but failing. He laughed again as the little Snufkin immediately gripped his smock, making small protesting noises in his sleep. His tiny claws were threatening to cut more holes in his smock, Snufkin clinging to him as if his life was on the line.

It seemed obvious to Joxter that he couldn't get Snufkin to release him without waking him up or loosing his smock in the process. He really didn't want to wake his beautiful angel son up, but he really was hungry, and he was pretty sure that his son must be too as the two of them had skipped dinner. 

Joxter put a paw on Snufkin's small shoulder, shaking him gently. The baby mumrik curled up on himself even more, still gripping the fabric of Joxter's smock with his tiny paws and claws, and groaned quietly.

"Come on kiddo. I need to get up now." Joxter whispered to him as he continued to shake him carefully, smiling fondly at the cute ball that was his son. "I'm hungry and I'm pretty sure you should eat something too. Come on we can go back to sleep after a small meal."

Joxter almost celebrated when he saw his son's head lift a little, his sleepy eyes stopping on the paw that had stopped shaking him at his movement and was now waiting in midair to see if his son was finally awake and ready to obey or not. He gasped, muffling his swears, when tiny but sharp fangs met his fingers, Snufkin's jaw snapping shut on them. 

He was lucky that the boy was too young and too sleepy to really damage his paw, but the bite was hard enough that he could smell blood already as he tried to get his fingers back. He could tell that it wasn't too bad but it would still need to be cleaned and bandaged.

Snufkin who seemed to have been finally woken up fully by the noises from his poor father and by the smell of blood easily let go of him as he noticed what was happening, looking at his father with apologetic and worried puppy eyes.

"It's fine kiddo." Joxter reassured quickly. "How about we have something to eat?"

Snufkin nodded quietly, still looking apologetically at his father as this one carefully lifted him off his stomach. Joxter stood up and carried his son to the kitchen, settling him on top of the table to wait as he heated up some left over that MoominMamma had gently prepared for them while they slept. He went on to clean and bandaged the poor fingers that had been bitten. He made sure to keep an eye on Snufkin while he did so.

Snufkin kept his eyes on him as well, still looking guilty after what he'd done despite Joxter's constant reassurances that it was fine. Even while he was eating, he kept glancing back at his father.

Once they were done, Joxter put there dishes in the sink, thinking for a moment before shaking his head and going back to his son, still sitting on the table and watching him confusedly. He took hold of his son again, cradling him against his chest, and walked back to the couch. 

He stopped in front of the couch looking at it thoughtfully for a moment. Snufkin looked up at him from his chest, watching curiously his father. Then Joxter seemed to decide against staying on the couch, starting up the stairs of the house and to the guest bedroom, which MoominMamma, as he had thought, had already prepared for them, putting their bag at the foot of the bed and preparing warm but old blankets for them.

Joxter smiled fondly at his kit, making a mental note to thank MoominMamma later. He pulled the blankets, not letting go of his son until he could put him in the bed. Snufkin let himself be tucked under the blanket, watching as his Pappa walked to a chair farther in the room.

Understanding that Joxter was planning on spending the rest of the night sleeping on the chair, and determined not to let this happen, Snufkin made small complaining noises, freeing his arms from the cover and making grabby paws towards his father. This one caught on quickly, chuckling fondly as he made his way back to the bed.

He stroked his kit's hair gently, grinning as the small child purred quietly, closing his eyes and smiling at him. Joxter climbed into bed, settling himself behind Snufkin and pulling the cover back over the two of them. One arm was tucked under his own head as the other wrapped around his cute purring son's frame, pulling him even closer against him.

The next day, as MoominMamma went downstairs to prepare breakfast, she went to check on them, having the feeling that they would be in the guest bedroom.

When she opened the door, she could barely hold back the fond noise she was about to make as she saw them. Joxter's arms were both wrapped around Snufkin, keeping him close to him, to his chest, this one was hiding his sleeping face in his father's smock, gripping it gently in his sleep. They looked more peaceful than she'd ever seen them before.

She quietly closed the door and made her way downstairs, still smiling happily. She wouldn't say it to anybody else but, she was glad that this curse was making them closer.   
She knew Snufkin wanted his father's affection but was too unused to it and too proud to ask for it, as Joxter, him, didn't want to cage his son by showing too much affection towards him and was still feeling a bit guilty of not having know that he had a child and having left him to grow up alone when he should have been there for him.

But even if this curse was not all that bad, they couldn't leave Snufkin like that, nor leave Joxter in this situation either. Poor Joxter was now not only blaming himself for missing his son's whole life, but also for making him get cursed over something stupid.

They would have to talk about what Moomin mentioned when they came back after going to too-Ticky. But that would have to wait until they were all awake.

MoominMamma wasn't sure if Joxter would be too found of the idea of asking another witch for help to lift the curse, or at least learn more about it. That probably would take some convincing but they could manage. She just hoped that the witch would accept to help them.

She hummed Snufkin's spring tune, the one he always played as he came back 'home' to Moomin Valley, as she prepare the pancakes, thinking about what they could offer the witch to make sure she would accept to help them. She was pretty sure she could convince Joxter to let them try to ask her if she made him a nice pie, one she knew he would like, and if she put a small sign on it to forbid anyone to eat it.

When Joxter woke up that morning, he was met with a small face in front of his. Big brown eyes staring at him curiously, lightening up when they saw him waking up. Snufkin beamed at his father as this one yawned, putting a paw on his son's head to pet his hair.

Something in his chest hurt as he wondered for a moment if that was what he had missed by going wandering and missing Snufkin's existence. Wondering if it was what he would have woken up too every morning if he had accepted to stay with the Mymble and had been able to take care of his child.

The thought was quickly pushed away, however as he heard the door to the room open, first slowly before suddenly getting kicked open. He watched as Snufkin's head snapped towards the noise, examining his son's expression and his reaction as he heard quick footsteps running towards the bed. He didn't need to look at who it was as he already knew.

"Morning!" Little My almost yelled as she jumped into sight, hopping onto the bed in front of them, grinning wildly as Snufkin got startled but relaxed quickly. 

"Good morning Little gremlin." Joxter chuckled, his hand still petting Snufkin's hair as this one looked at his sister questioningly. "So? What are you planning this early in the morning?"

"We need to talk about what solution we came up with yesterday with Moomin." She explained, not mentioning that it was Too-Ticky's idea and that she hadn't been there for that discussion. "But we need to wake up Moomin for that." She grinned mischievously at him and at Snufkin.

Joxter was about to comment on that but she just hopped off the bed, turning around to point at Snufkin.

"Come on! Let's go wake him up!"

Snufkin turned to his father for approval, even though his tail clearly showed how eager he was to go with her.

"Sure." Joxter laughed. "But don't be too hard on that poor troll."

Little My's grin widened at that, somehow looking even more mischievous than before. She watched as Snufkin made his way off the bed, gripping the blanket tightly to help him go down without falling. As soon as he had set foot on the floor, Little My headed out of the room.

Joxter couldn't help but chuckle, thinking of the waking the poor Moomintroll was about to receive. If it had only been his sweet boy he would have been fine but, with Little My, there was no way it was going to be as peaceful as his waking up.

Little My waited for her brother at the base of the stairs leading to Moomin's room. When he was by her side, she started to make her way up, slowly so she could help him climb the stairs, too big for him. He was much more stubborn than she would have thought, ignoring her hand to continue to climb his own way, his little claws sinking in the wooden stairs as he hauled himself up each steps, one by one.

The way up was slow but she didn't mind, for once, proud of her brother for making it up on his own (and maybe also for piercing small claw holes on each of the steps).

The two of them stopped in front of Moomin's door. Little My turned to him, instructing him to be quiet as she opened the door slowly, peeking inside. Once she was sure the troll was still sound asleep in his bed, she signaled Snufkin to follow her and to not make a sound. He obeyed, trying not to giggle as they made their way in the room and to the bed.

This time, Snufkin accepted her help to get up on the bed as it was much too high for him. Signaling him to do the same, she carefully climbed on the sleeping Moomin's stomach, sitting there. Snufkin did the same, sitting next to her.

She grinned again before she stood up, and jumped.

The poor Moomintroll gasped as she landed on his stomach, the impact making Snufkin bounce on him, finally letting out the giggles he'd been holding back. Little My kept bouncing on him, ignoring his complains, laughing maniacally. She was proud of herself, proud of being the little terror she was and being able to make Snufkin laugh so adorably.

Poor Moomintroll fought to get into a sitting position, angry at Little My and trying to make her stop but enable to feel anything more than fondness, the adorable laughter of his baby friend filling his ears in such a comforting way as the little boy continued to bounce softly on his stomach.

Little My finally had to stop as Moomin sat up on his bed, slowly and lowly saying her name in a quite threatening way, a warning that he was about to make her pay for her disturbance. She continued to laugh, louder, as she leapt over him, dodging expertly when he tried to grasp her.

She landed on the floor and started to run, running out of the room while calling out to MoominMamma, asking if breakfast was ready. Moomin grumbled, before sighing and looking back at the little angel still giggling, laying across his stomach and looking at him with such beautiful smile that blew away all possible anger that the troll could have been feeling for Little My's waking.

"Good morning." He whispered, reaching out to stroke Snufkin's head.

He stopped himself, his paw stilling in midair atop his head. He hesitated, not sure if he should or not, until Snufkin moved his head up to meet his paw, smiling at him and purring softly, his tail swaying gently on his stomach. Moomin obeyed and gently stroked his hair, smiling fondly for a moment before realizing what he was doing and blushing, stopping his paw on Snufkin's head

Snufkin, who had closed his eyes, letting himself melt into Moomin's touch, opened them again, glancing up at Moomin and tilting his little head in question. Moomin quickly shook his head, trying to ignore the way he was still blushing as he wrapped his arms around a now smiling and giggling Snufkin. He stood up from his bed, looking down at the cute baby mumrik in his arms.

"How about we go downstairs for breakfast, before your sister eats everything." He said trying to keep a straight face as Snufkin grinned widely at him, showing him little fangs that Moomin never knew he had.

Moomin carried the still giggling beast to the kitchen, only stopping for a quick glance at the guest bedroom door to see if the Joxter was still in there or if he was awake and already eating, or annoying MoominPappa who was probably up from his hibernation after Little My's ruckus.

"HA! Took you long, you lazy ass!" Little My shouted when she saw the two coming in the kitchen, ignoring the glares of Moomin, MoominMamma and Joxter at her words. "You're lucky Mamma didn't let me eat everything. We've finished eating for a while now."

Moomin huffed, not willing to argue with her so early in the morning, even less when he was still carrying his baby friend.

He took Snufkin to the table where Little My was standing, setting him next to her as MoominMamma took a plate of her tasty pancakes and put it in front of him, placing another one in front a Moomin's chair.

It seemed that everybody else was already done eating, just like Little My had said, as they just hovered around, Joxter sitting in front of his kit, watching him carefully, as did Little My although she would never admit it as she sat next to him. Mamma continued to wash their dishes while MoominPappa, who was awake like Moomin had thought, was reading his newspaper, seemingly still unaware of the situation at hand.

"So?" Joxter asked, not taking his eyes away from his slightly struggling to eat son. "Little My said that you got an idea of what to do next? What's that?"

"Ah. Y- Yes. We got an idea. Bu- But we're not sure yet." Moomin hesitated, it was one thing to say that they were going to see the Witch but knowing that the one responsible for the curse in the first place was another witch, he wasn't sure how well Joxter would react to the idea.

"So? What's that idea?" The mumrik said as he gave him a suspicious glance, sensing that it was something that he probably wouldn't like but obviously willing to hear Moomin out.

"We want to go ask the Witch!" Little My said before Moomin could say anything else. "Our Witch might know how to get him back to normal."

"Or at least she'll probably have some advice." Mamma commented for the frowning Joxter, calmly taking a pie out of the oven and putting it to rest on the table with with a small sign “do not eat” on top of it and smiling as she winked at him.

"It's not like we got any other way to know anyway." Little My pointed out.

They all looked at Joxter, expecting him to argue against it, instead, he just looked at them, one after the others, examining their expression before his eyes went back to his baby son, still trying to eat his pancakes with his little paws. He stayed like that for a moment, before finally sighing.

"As long as she can help." He mumbled quietly, still staring at his little boy, only glancing in amusement when everybody seemed to relax, sighing in relief.

"Let's go then." Little My said, standing up on the table and walking to the ledge, hopping off.

"Where?" Moomin asked, suddenly aware that she was talking to him.

"To see the Witch you big oaf!" She huffed.

"But we're not done eating." Moomin complained before realizing that Snufkin had just finished and was making his way toward his father, on all four, to have him help him off the table to follow his sister.

"Come on hurry up then!" She urged.

Moomin didn't feel like going against her so he quickly put the last part of pancakes in his mouth. He nearly choked on it as he tried to eat it, but managed to get it down and walked to the front door to take their winter coats and scarfs.

"I'm coming with you." Joxter said after a moment of reflection as he carried his boy to the entrance to help him put on his clothes. "I'm not going to stay here when it's my fault." He explained, more serious than anyone had ever seen him as they all stared at him.

They all nodded, MoominMamma smiling at him with an understanding smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me a long time again to post this chapter even tho it was almost done for like a month, but it was a hard month for me so it was hard to get some time to get to finish it.  
I don't remember how this idea of Snufkin biting his father as he tried to wake him up came to me but I'm so glad I added it here. I swear I almost die every time I have to write Snufkin being a cute baby.
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter, as always I don't know when I'll get the next one done but don't worry it will come sooner or later.  
Thank you to all of you who left me kudos and comments, it always help me get back to it when I remember that someone actually enjoys what I'm making and is waiting for the next part to come.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally time for them to try to find a way to get Snufkin back to normal.  
Here comes the Witch and her granddaughter!

Once everyone was ready, they set off to the Witch's cottage, Moomin and Little My walking ahead as Joxter followed, carrying a calm Snufkin, comfortably settled in his arms, his little head resting on his shoulder as he watched the snow around them, already starting to melt, a first sign that Spring was coming soon.

Joxter's mind wandered as they walked, thinking back on this idea and how they all seemed convinced that she could really help them. He didn't know her but if she was staying in MoominValley, and if everyone said she was fine, he didn't had any other choice than to accept to go ask her for help. He just hoped that this encounter would go better than the last one he had with a witch.

At least he could try to make it work, and even if it didn't, it couldn't be worst, could it?

He thought back about the nice pie that was waiting for him at MoominHouse, knowing fully well why MoominMamma had made it and why she had put the little sign on it. It was quite unusual for him but, this time, he was thinking about sharing it, but only with his son. That would surely make up for whatever could happen at the Witch's cottage.

He could feel Snufkin moving in his arms, when he looked down at his baby son, he found that Snufkin was looking up at him with concerned eyes. It was almost the same look that he had given him that day as he tried to convince him to stop arguing with the old witch and to go with him. He tried to push away the thought as he gave his son the best and most reassuring smile he could manage.

Snufkin didn't seem very convinced by it but he returned to his original position, resting his head on his father's shoulder. His tiny paws gripping gently the fabric of his smock, almost as if trying to reassure him that everything would be alright. Joxter tightened gently his grip on Snufkin in return, nuzzling his little head as the little boy giggled.

Little My glanced at them over her shoulder, huffing as she watched the scene of a father finally able to show affection to his baby son. Even as she tried to only show that she was annoyed by them, she couldn't hide the smile that made it's way on her face. She would never admit it but she was happy to see Joxter finally acting like a father with Snufkin, and she hoped that Snufkin would give him a chance to act like that more often in the future, even though she knew that he already wanted it but was just afraid to ask.

In front of them, Moomin wasn't paying attention as to what was going on behind him. He was too focused on finding the right way to the witch's cottage. He knew the way, of course, they had gone there so many times in the past years, to play with Alicia, to ask for help from the witch or just to enjoy a walk in the forest and say a quick hello to their friend and her grandmother. The problem was, they'd never went there in the winter. The way was already quite tricky without being covered in the white snow and the dead trees. It looked so much different now.

Still, they made their way to the witch's cottage without a problem.

They stopped at the door, all suddenly realizing that they hadn't planned on what they would tell her to get her to help them. They all looked at each other for a moment, thinking. Snufkin glanced at all of them, confused at the sudden halt and the heavy silence.

They didn't have time to think more as the door to the cottage opened slowly in front of them.

"Moomin! Little My!" Alicia exclaimed as she opened the door. "I thought you were still hibernating. It's still a few days before Spring."

"Hm... Hello Alicia. Sorry to bother you like that but could we talk to the witch?" Moomin asked quietly, quite unsure of what they should do now.

"You want to talk to grandma? Of course, but why?" She asked, tilting her head as she looked at the in her confusion. Then, she finally seemed to notice what was wrong. "Is that Snufkin???"

She approached Joxter and Snufkin, Joxter squeezing gently his son in his arms as this one gripped his smock tighter in fear, his little face pressing against his shoulder. Joxter didn't know who this Alicia was but he didn't like that she was getting so close to Snufkin.   
Still, he didn't move away, not yet. They were here to ask the Witch for help, she would have to take a look at Snufkin if they wanted her to help, if he backed away in front a kid he could never face that old witch.

"Yes." Little My replied to the girl as she lean toward Snufkin, her eyes showing her surprise and her amazement as she looked at the little mumrik. "His father got into an argument with a witch and got him cursed." She huffed.

"So you came here to ask me to turn him back to normal huh? You all always seem to forget that I'm a witch. Why should I help you?" A voice said from inside the cottage.

They all looked at the entrance as the Witch made her way to them, her hands folded behind her back and an annoyed look on her face. She stop at the door, her eyes going from one to the other until it stop on Joxter, they lingered there for an uncomfortable moment as they stared at each other, before they dropped to the small child in his arms, gripping the fabric of his father's smock so tight that he was sure there would be tiny claw holes in it when he'll finally let go. Snufkin was hiding his face in his father's shoulder, only glancing over his shoulder at the witch with his big, scared but curious eyes.

"I see." The witch said leaning towards Snufkin to get a better look at him and glancing up at Joxter with suspicious eyes. "You're really lucky that he's a mymrik." She grinned, her eyes twitching in malice. 

Joxter didn't like that. He tightened his arms around his son protectively, glaring at the old woman who just laughed at his reaction. He knew he had to keep his calm if he wanted to get her help to get Snufkin back to normal but he really didn't like the way she was looking at them, and even more at Snufkin.

"What do you mean?" Moomin asked for him, really confused at the Witch's statement.

She glanced at him and grinned again turning back to Joxter and Snufkin and staring into Joxter's eyes as she explained herself.

"Mymriks are much more docile and easier to take care of when they are young, unlike Mumriks that are just feral little beast. It's really lucky for you all and mostly for Snufkin that he was the one being cursed. Imagine if his father had been turned back into a kid. That Poor boy would have had a hard time trying to take care of a feral baby Joxter." She laughed as Joxter's eyes became more threatening, his baby son looking back and forth between him and her in confusion.

"Grandma!" Alicia scolded, putting her hands on her hips and pouting.

She laughed again before addressing the Joxter with a more serious tone. "You shouldn't look at me like that if you want my help, I can't help someone that is giving me such look."

"Does that mean that you'll help us?" Moomin asked, voice full of hope and with a silent plea. "Do you know how to break that curse?"

"Now, I didn't say I would help." The witch pointed out.

"Grandma..." Alicia warned, crossing her arms and frowning at her. "You owe it to him for all the times he help us and for all the herbs he found for us. You can't leave him like that."

The Witch mumbled something, probably complaining, before making her way back inside, glancing over her shoulder to indicate to them to follow. She gave one last glance to Joxter, eyes warning him about what she told him before, and walk over to a bookshelf looking for something.

The other came inside, sitting at the table as Alicia politely invited them to do so. Joxter came in last, still unsure if this was a good idea or not. He was a little reassured about Alicia's presence as she seemed to be essential for them to convince the Witch to do anything and seemed like someone he could trust. The Witch however was another matter for him. She acted way too maliciously and laughed about their situation and their race and he wasn't very fond of that.

Mumrikars and Mymriks were always rare and solitary creatures that only lived to wander around. That caused them a lot of problems for many reasons. The first one was that, like the Witch had pointed out, Mumriks were feral creatures and liked to cause chaos around them, mostly with people like park keeps that were trying to cage nature and put laws onto everything or the police who were always ready to catch one even without any proof of any crime just because of their reputation. Mymriks however were even rarer creatures, half Mymble and half Mumrik, they were so rare it was making them a target for some people with bad intention. Thankfully, it seemed like Snufkin didn't have to face a lot of those in his life and managed to escape the worst situations until now. But for Joxter, who had been wandering for far longer, it was different, he had met numerous of them and even though he had managed to escape them or scare them away, he knew that anybody could turn out to be bad when it came to their races. This was an even better reason to be wary of that old witch as she seemed to know Snufkin's nature and didn't seem like someone who could be trusted too much with her attitude toward them.

Still, he didn't have the choice but to give her a chance. He had to, for Snufkin. So he tried to avoid glaring at her as he took a sit at the table as well, putting Snufkin on the log that served as chairs next to him. 

Snufkin looked around him, still not understanding what was happening. He let his father settle him on the log and sat there for a moment, trying to obey to his father order to not move. But Snufkin being so young also meant that he was less calm and couldn't sit still waiting for too long. So after a moment, as everyone was watching the Witch with bated breaths while she search through some old books, Snufkin discretely hopped off his seat to go wander around behind everyone.

Snufkin approached a shelf, where rested a few flasks of various curious potions, some herbs and a book. He looked at the flasks in awe, putting his little paws on the edge of the shelf and standing on his toes to get a better look at it. He couldn't look for too long however as the Witch noticed him and immediately hurried to gently push him away from it.

"This kid definitely has more Mumrik in him than Mymble." She huffed, trying to sound annoyed but not really convincing anyone as they could see how careful and gentle she was being with the baby mymrik. "Go back to your seat and stay there." She ordered the boy with a serious tone.

Joxter had to force himself to stay on his seat the whole time, his claws piercing little holes in the log under him as he watched her gently push his kid away from her stuff. He knew, he could see, how careful she was being with his son but he didn't like to see a Witch, of all people, touch his son. 

Thankfully, Snufkin obeyed the Witch and went back to sit, but not on his log. Instead, he made his way straight to Moomin. He stopped in front of him and looked up at him expectantly, holding up his little arms toward him and making grabby paws at him.

Moomin hurried to obliged, taking Snufkin in his arms and settling him on his lap while this one wrapped his arms around him and hid his face in his fluffy white fur. Moomin tried to ignore the fact that his face was obviously turning red as the other watched him with funny eyes, even Joxter who had only been watching the Witch's movement closely until now was grinning at him now.

"So." Moomin almost choked, trying to get everyone to focus on something else than him. "Can you break the curse?" He asked the Witch.

"No." She replied easily, her face going neutral.

"What do you mean 'No'? I thought you said you'd help us!" Little My huffed.

"I didn't say I would." The Witch said defensively before coughing in her hand and continuing, explaining. "I Will help. But only because Alicia asked me, and because I hate having debts."

"Then what do you mean by no? Can you not reverse the curse?" Moomin asked, absentmindedly stroking Snufkin's hair.

"Witchcraft is not that easy young Moomin." She frowned. "This type of curse is quite strong and usually can only be reversed by the witch that performed it."

Moomin, Little My, Joxter and Alicia looked at each other worriedly for a moment. What were they going to do now? If only the witch that cursed him could make him go back to normal, they'd have to go and find her but they all doubted that she'd accept that easily to do it for them.

"There must be a way you can help him." Alicia said, turning back to her grandmother with pleading eyes.

"I don't know yet." The Witch sighed, returning to the book she was reading before. "There might be a potion or something that could help with that but I need to do some researches first. I cannot guarantee that I'll find a solution but I'll do my best."

"Thank you." Moomin thanked quietly, a little disappointed that it wasn't as simple as her casting a spell to break the curse but still thankful that she was going to try to help them.

"Now." The Witch continued, turning back to Moomin. "I might not know how to break the curse but I can tell you more about it." She paused, to look at Snufkin, half-asleep in Moomin's arms. "This little one won't stay like that forever." She frowned. "Even if we don't break the curse it's bond to have some weakness that could help us break it. Although... How long as it been since he got cursed?" She asked toward the Joxter.

"About a month." He answered nervously.

"A month huh?" She looked at Snufkin thoughtfully, frowning before smiling and turning to Alicia. "Let's see if you remember what I taught you about how to find out more information on a spell. Can you tell me how long this spell should last?"

"Huh? Me?" Alicia gasped, surprised at her grandmother's request but she quickly nodded, taking on a more serious expression as she looked attentively at Snufkin. "I'll try."

Joxter didn't know what to think anymore. The Witch seemed ready to help and he was conscious that she wasn't as bad as he might have thought at first but he was a bit annoyed by how lightly she was taking everything. It was making it even worst that he knew he would probably act the same way had it not been for his son. He had to admit that she was acting much the same as he would and it was making him even more uncomfortable with the whole situation. Being stuck in a room with a Witch that acted like a reflection of himself was unnerving. He wished silently for this Alicia girl to quickly do what she had been told to do so they could go already and he could have a nice nap, maybe with Snufkin on top of him again as long as this one didn't bite him again.

They all watched as Alicia examined the small boy, not approaching him nor touching him, which Joxter was grateful for as he still didn't feel like letting them touch him, not anymore at least. It took a long moment of her staring and humming to herself before she nodded quietly and turned to her grandmother. They stared at each other for a moment, almost as if the Witch could tell what she had found, until she nodded to Alicia before returning to her books, going through the page of another even older looking book. Alicia sighed and turned back to face them all, her eyes almost looking apologetic.

"It doesn't seem like it will break anytime soon..." She started, looking almost as if she was afraid of telling them the full truth and making them only more worried about the situation. "This isn't a spell that can break on it's own." She explained, stopping and looking down at Snufkin sadly.

"What do you mean?" Little My urged her to continue. "Come on we didn't come here to have you refuse to tell us more!"

"I know." She sighed before continuing her explanation again. "It isn't just that it won't end if we do nothing, it will get worst." She took a deep breath before finally looking up at them with resolve. "If we don't find a way to get him back before at least two more months he will start to get younger every day until he's so young that he'll just disappear as if he was never born."

Everyone stared at her with open mouth, shock and worry present on their face. They knew it was already bad that Snufkin had been cursed but they could have never imagined that it could take such turn. They were all glad they had come to the Witch to ask for help or they could very well have been too late to save the poor mumrik boy.

"Is there no other way to cure him?" Moomin asked almost desperately.

"I'm trying to find one young Moomin." The Witch intervened, still not looking at them and flipping through the pages. "But there is a way to counter the curse."

"What is it then?" Little My stood up on her log. "Why haven't you started by telling us about it?"

"Now, calm down kid." The Witch ordered with a sharp look to Little My, although she could see something more gentle behind it. "First of all, all curses have a way to break them, it varies in function of the victim of the curse and of the intentions of the caster. This one in particular is really nasty."

"So what is it? Come tell us already!" Little My pressed again, sounding desperate herself now.

The Witch and Alicia both looked at Joxter with apologetic eyes again, like they were warning that he wasn't going to like what they were about to say. Joxter swallowed hard, bracing himself for what was about to come.

"The way to break the curse is to make him relive his first and most traumatic experience." The Witch said, so calm and quiet that it was unsettling.

"What do you mean? What traumatic experience?" Moomin asked worriedly.

There was a long silence where nobody dared to talk, the Witch and Alicia waiting to see if they would understand without them having to say it while Moomin, Little My and Joxter waited for them to continue, trying to think of the meaning of the Witch's words.

Then, it clicked in Little My's head. The dawning realization felt quick and painful as if she had just been stabbed in the chest.

"You don't mean..." She hesitated looking at them with such a look it was almost as if she was pleading them silently to tell her that she was wrong. However she knew, by the way they were looking at her and mostly at Joxter and with this horrible feeling in her guts, that she had guessed right.

"Do you know what it is Little My?" Moomin asked urgently, only getting more worried when she nodded slowly, refusing to look at any of them.

"Do you remember the first thing he told you about his past, about the first thing that he remembers?" She asked Moomin silently, looking sadly at her now sleeping baby brother.

"The first thing he remembered from his path?" Moomin thought for a moment, not sure where Little My was trying to lead him, until it came back to him. "He was found in a basket!" He gasped before continuing onto what it meant they must do if they wanted to get him back to normal. "His first traumatic experience was being abandoned..." He mumbled, squeezing gently the child in his arms.

Joxter couldn't process anything at this point. Everything seemed to be crashing around him. Like the entire world was falling on him. He couldn't take in the words that he had heard. He wished he never heard them, wish everything was only a bad dream that was much more realistic than the usual ones he had, that he would wake up in a tree, above Snufkin's camp as this one would be preparing to return to MoominValley for the the first day of Spring. This couldn't be real. It couldn't.  
He glanced at each of them, all their eyes were looking at him, all sad and apologetic, Moomin, Little My and Alicia watching him with worry. He stopped on the Witch, staring at her until she nodded, confirming silently that it was real, that it was exactly what they were saying.

"I am NOT abandoning my son again!!" Joxter suddenly snapped,standing up from his log, making everyone look down sadly.

They couldn't blame him for his reaction, any sane parent would react the same way although Joxter had even more reasons to be shocked and against the idea. He had lived for so long without even knowing that he had a son and when he had discovered the truth about Snufkin he couldn't have felt worst, knowing that his own child, his blood, had been lost so young and had had to grow up by himself in this cruel world filled with bad people ready to hurt any mumriks they see, it had broken his heart. He wasn't going to let that happen again.

"Snufkin already suffered enough from that! I'm not going to make him go through that AGAIN!!"

"We're not telling you to do it." The Witch said calmly but firmly, signaling him to calm down and listen to her. "But, if we cannot find any other way in two months, until he starts to get even younger, then we might have no choice. This isn't a good choice and it's hard to take it in but if it's the only way to save your son you'll have to do it." She rationalized, trying to reassure him but forcing him to see that there could be a point where they wouldn't really have any other choice.

Joxter clenched his fists and teeth. He hated that idea, hated that it was all because of him, that he was the one that was going to ruin Snufkin's life once again. He knew, he could understand, that it would be a necessity to save his son if they couldn't find any other way, but he couldn't accept the cruelty of it. Why had this stupid witch cursed Snufkin and not him? Why did she go to such measures to teach him a lesson? Why couldn't he have shut his stupid mouth and followed his son when he could? How could his son ever forgive him for this if he had no choice but to make him relive his abandonment to save him? How could he ever look at him in the eyes again without seeing only anger reflecting back at it, without feeling overtaken by guilt?

"Still." The Witch started again, cutting the heavy silence as she turned back to her books once again. "For now the most important is to search for some other solution. There might be something around here that could help." She turned to point a finger at Alicia, then at the group. "Alicia! You'll help me look through these books! You! You get out of here and take care of the kid while we search! I'll send Alicia to get you if we find anything, and to check on him too." She finished pointing at the poor Snufkin that had been startled awake by the sudden exclamation of the old woman, and that was clinging to Moomin, looking around him in confusion.

Everyone stared at her for a moment before nodding. Even Joxter, still clenching his fists so hard that his claws were probably going to leave worst marks than his son's teeth on his hands. They all got up, Moomin taking Snufkin in his arms, and started heading out. As Joxter stepped out the Witch quietly called out to him so nobody else could hear her.

"I don't know how you managed to get him cursed but it's not important for now so stop moping over it. What are you? A kid? Act like a father and take care of your son until we find another way to break that curse." She scolded before closing the door almost in his face.

Joxter didn't know how to feel about that Witch anymore. She was definitely pissing him off every time she opened her mouth but she wasn't wrong either on what she was saying. She was still meaning well even if she would deny it, and she acted much like he would have had it been anyone else than Snufkin. 

He sighed as he followed the little group back on the path to MoominHouse. He could see as he walked behind them the worried eyes of his son peeking over Moomin's shoulder and looking at him. He tried to smile to reassure him but it didn't seem to work as the little boy only seemed to grow more worried. Eventually, Snufkin looked away from him to rest his head on Moomin's shoulder. Joxter sighed again. How horrible he was at being a father. As much as he wanted to help his son and take care of him, it always seemed to backfired in some way or another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally back with the next chapter!   
Sorry for the wait, I'm still struggling with my personal life but I was finally able to go back to writing this thanks to my friends on our Moomin Server! Thank you guys! I couldn't have gone back to it without you all this time!
> 
> Anyway! I hope you like this new chapter! It wasn't easy to write it at first and I was afraid of not getting the Witch's and Alicia's characterization right but I finally convinced myself that it would be fine as long as I was happy with it, so here I hope it wasn't too bad for y'all.  
Thank you again for reading this and for letting me know that you like my fic! It really helps a lot! I'll be trying to work on it more often so I can get to the end of it and go to the next ones that are already waiting! I can't tell when I'll update it next but I'll do my best to do it quicker this time!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1-Joxter isn't sure how to deal with things  
2-Mamma is the best Mamma,   
3-Snufkin is a cute baby angel,   
4-Little My is a little gremlin,   
5-Moomintroll is desperate and miss his baby friends even if he's just in another room  
and   
6-Pappa's just trying to defend his pride.  
Enjoy the new chapter ;D

Back at MoominHouse, Moomin and Little My decided to go in MoominPappa’s study to look at the books he had, hoping they could find something that could help them, too, even though they knew it was unlikely to happen as they didn't own any book on witchcraft. They were determined to force Pappa to help them search, too, asking him if he could remember anything on witches that he could have learned when he was a young adventurer.

Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Joxter and Snufkin were enjoying the delicious pie made by MoominMamma. Or, at least, Snufkin was enjoying it. Joxter was watching him as he picked at his pie, looking at it thoughtfully. He really loved it and wanted to eat it, but the discussion from earlier at the Witch's cottage lingered in his mind, making the pie taste bitter in his mouth.

He couldn't stop thinking about it. What if he had to do it? What if they couldn't find anything in those two months and he had no other choice? How could he ever look at himself or his son again after that? And even if it worked and Snufkin went back to normal and made his way back to the Valley, how could he ever face him knowing that he had to make him relive such a horrible event because he was too stubborn and got his own son cursed because of that? Even now, even if they found another way, he wasn't sure how he could face Snufkin. His son would probably be very angry at him, and he would be right.

"Pappa?" A small voice called, breaking Joxter out of his thoughts to look up at his baby son. "What's wrong?" Snufkin asked timidly, his eyes bright with worry.

Joxter's heart hurt as he looked at him. His son had barely ever talked since he had been turned into a kid, so the fact that he was talking now meant he was worried enough that he felt he had to talk to his father. He could almost have broken into a fit of tears at this situation but he kept it all in, trying to smile reassuringly at his son.

"It's alright, kitty. I'm just a bit tired," he said quietly, gently stroking his son's hair. "I'll be much better after a good nap."

"You barely ate," Snufkin pointed out with concern, obviously not believing in his fake smile.

"I'll eat later, kiddo, don't worry. I told you, I just need a good nap," he tried again, ruffling his hair in an attempt to look more like his usual self.

"Pappa, stop!" Snufkin groan softly, pushing his paw away and pouting at him. "Nap time!" He ordered as he pushed away his own pie and stood up on the kitchen table.

"Okay." Joxter chuckled as Snufkin walked towards him, reaching out to him. 

Joxter took him in his arms and made his way to the guest bedroom. As they headed there however, they passed MoominMamma, who was knitting peacefully on the couch and watching them carefully.

"Going upstairs already?" She asked. Of course, she had noticed that Joxter had been acting weird since he came back, she had her idea on what was going on after Moomin explained to her what happened earlier.

"Nap time!" Snufkin exclaimed happily, throwing his arms in the air.

"Oh?" MoominMamma looked at Snufkin in surprise for a moment before her expression softened. She gave them a warm smile as Joxter started to walk towards the stairs again, his little angel Snufkin waving goodbye to MoominMamma as they headed to the room.

"Have a good nap dear." She called after them, chuckling.

Once she was sure they were in their room, she sighed, putting her knitting away. She headed to the kitchen and looked sadly at the remains of her poor pie. Snufkin had eaten a good part on his own but as for his father... He barely ate anything. 

She could understand what was going on in his mind, but she was worried about him. She knew Snufkin. Joxter was worrying too much about it. Of course, she didn't like the idea of making him go through this traumatic experience again, but she knew that Snufkin would understand and would forgive his father for doing so. He would need some time for himself, for sure, but he wouldn't hold it against his father knowing that it was their only choice and how much Joxter was reluctant about it, already blaming himself for it even if there was still hope for them to find another solution.

She would have to talk to him about it when she could be alone with him again, she thought as she carefully picked up the rest of her pie and stocked it away so Joxter and Snufkin could finish it when they'd wake up, and if Joxter felt a little better after a good nap with his baby son.

She chuckled again to herself as the image of a baby Snufkin, excitedly waving her goodbye and looking so happy to go rest with his father, flashed in her mind.

She knew that Snufkin could talk, of course. He might be young, but she doubted that he wouldn't know how to speak. She sighed, smiling sadly as she went back to her knitting. She knew her boy. Even young, he was still acting the same, only talking if he felt like it was needed, although he had gotten better at talking more freely with them with time. If she had heard his voice right then, it was only because he knew something was bothering his father and felt the need to talk to him, to cheer him up.

She really hoped they would be alright after a good nap, and a good talk with Joxter.

As the day went by, Moomin and Little My's research seemed to be getting them nowhere. MoominPappa didn't have any memory of ever running into a witch or hearing about something that could help them, the only stories he could tell them were Joxter's own stories that he had heard on his travels, leading to nowhere as they were just small rumors about this or that kind of witch wandering about in this or that area. Nothing useful.

Little My let out a frustrated groan, throwing another book in the pile they had already went through and making it crumbled in a messy pile.

"Please be careful with those books, Little My," MoominPappa sighed from his chair.

"But we can't find anything useful in those stupid books!" She complained, throwing her arms in the air, over her head, in her frustration. "How can we hope to find anything in those? There's nothing to help us get him back to normal here!"

"Don't be so impatient, Little My." MoominPappa looked over at her with a firm but understanding look. "I know you're worried about your brother, we all are, but it won't help to just complain like that and declare everything here is useless. There's still a lot of books on this shelf, so maybe there is something in it."

"No, Pappa. She is right," Moomin sighed, putting down the book he was holding next to him before scooting over to the messy pile and started to clean. "I know the rest of the books. They're just stories about pirates, fairies, monsters, and your memoirs. Nothing useful in those."

MoominPappa flinched a little at the mention of the first part of his memoirs and the fact that his own son just called them useless. He swallowed back his hurt feelings before trying to defend his books.

"You never know, son." He laughed awkwardly. "Maybe there is something in them. After all, every artist writes about something they know or have heard about, or even lived!" He said proudly, puffing his chest and brandishing his pen like a sword. "Most of the beautiful battles written in those books probably came from someone who lived them, always saving his dear ones and protecting the defenseless people around them, not accepting any type of reward for it and leaving them only with a name and a beautiful memory.”

"Pappa..." Moomin sighed, his father was lost in his own mind again, forgetting the problem at hand. "Some stories like that won't give us any indication on how to turn Snuf back to normal."

"Maybe one is about a-” Pappa started to say before being cut off by Little My.

"We're wasting our time here," She grumbled, getting to her feet and starting to head toward the door. "I'll go ask Mamma where we can look. You do whatever you want, Moomin, but I'm not going to continue here knowing there is nothing interesting." She huffed as she walked away, slamming the door behind her.

"These books are very interesting." MoominPappa mumbled to himself, going back to writing his memoirs.

"I guess I'll go with her," Moomin sighed, finishing to put back the last of the books before following Little My downstairs.

Downstairs, Little My was already following Mamma into the kitchen where she had stored her grandmother's recipe book. He went after them smiling back when his mother glanced at him with a warm smile.

"I don't think you'll find anything in it, as I already went through it a couple of times myself, but it's the only other book you could search for now." She explained as she put the book down on the kitchen table for them. "You could probably go ask Too-Ticky again, maybe she knows where you could search as well, and I'm sure she would be happy to know what happened with the witch as well."

"Then let's do that!" Little My exclaimed.

"You can't." Mamma stopped her before she could go anywhere.

"What do you mean, Mamma?" Moomin asked, a little confused until she pointed a finger towards the window.

Outside, it was snowing heavily, snow coming down quickly and brutally thrown on the windows by the harsh winter wind.

"You'll have to wait for the snow storm to be over, I'm afraid," MoominMamma said calmly. "But in the meantime, you can still go through Grandma's book. Maybe I overlooked something, we never know."

Moomin highly doubted that MoominMamma could ever overlook anything, as she was far too patient and observant. If she said she had gone through the book multiple times already without finding anything, then there was really no chance for them to find anything. Still, it was better than sitting and doing nothing. 

Maybe they could play a little with Snufkin or ask Joxter to tell them stories of his travels. They were much more interesting than the one MoominPappa ever told and much more believable too. Moomin sat down by Little My as they started to look in the book. Then something hit him.

"Mamma? Where are Joxter and Snufkin?" He asked suddenly.

"They're taking a nap." Mamma smiled at him before ruffling the fur between his ears. "Don't worry, they're fine."

Moomin nodded before turning back his attention to the book as MoominMamma left the kitchen again. As long as Snufkin was fine for now, he should really focus on finding how to help him, no matter how much he wanted to see his baby companion.

The sound of harsh wind hitting the window at full force was the first thing Snufkin heard before opening his eyes. He yawned, curling up against his father more. He didn't want to be awake if he daddy wasn't, but as the time passed and the sound of the wind didn't fade away, the little mumrik grew restless.

He loved to sleep with his father, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep for now, not with the storm raging outside. He slowly sat up, yawning again and rubbing his eyes with his little paws. He turned to face his father. He didn't want to wake him as he seemed sound asleep, but it seemed that his slow movement had managed to stir Joxter out of his nap.

Joxter gently stroked Snufkin's hair, smiling sleepily at his son. He didn't seem like he was ready to get up yet, already falling back to sleep.

"Don't go causing any trouble to the Moomins,” he whispered as his breathing evened out.

Snufkin pouted, huffing, as if he was one to obey this kind of order. But despite his instinct to go against what he had been told, he knew he would have to obey. He himself didn't want to cause any problems in this beautiful and warm house.

He carefully lifted his father's hand, that was still resting on top of his head as this one slept, and placed it next to Joxter's face. He looked at his father for a moment, wondering if he shouldn't stay with him, but decided against it. He was too awake and bored to stay in bed no matter how much he wanted to be with him.

Snufkin carefully got up and made his way to the end of the bed, sliding down the covers to get to the floor. He then made his way to the door. Thankfully for him, it was left slightly open, just enough for him to put his little paws between the door and the wall and push it open a little more to get out of the room.

The house was calm, the only noise he could hear seemed to be coming from the kitchen. He slowly made his way down, sitting down on each step before letting himself carefully jump down to the next one, and made his way toward the kitchen. He wanted to go see what the noise was about, and what was the sweet smell that emanated from it, when his eyes caught on something in the corner of the room.

Curiosity took over and he forgot totally about the nose and the smell, replaced by the burning desire to know what was on the table next to the couch. He made his slow way towards the couch, almost falling once as he wasn't looking at his feet and stumbled on a piece of wood from the floor that was sticking out a little.

When he was at the foot of the couch, he looked around himself, trying to find how to climb it again. He spotted a small wool thread falling slightly from the couch, he walked to it, grabbing it and giving a small tug, once he was sure that it seemed to be enough to not give under his weight, he carefully used it to help himself climb the side of the couch. His little claws left little holes in the thread but he didn't really worry about it.

Once he was finally on the couch, he didn't even bother to look at what was sitting on it, just some more wool, nothing really interesting when he could see the black form on the table next to the couch. He walked to it, climbing on the arm of the couch and carefully jumping to be on the table, next to the black bag.

It was quite a big bag for him, almost as big as him. It was full of little objects that he didn't really care about. It seemed so comfortable for the little mumrik, so easy to crawl in, that he couldn't help letting his instinct take over.

"Don't go eating all the pancakes while I go wake them up, Little My!" A voice coming closer said, chuckling a little as Little My huffed a complaint about how it would be they're fault if they didn't have any left for sleeping for so long.

MoominMamma stepped into the living room, making her way towards the stairs before she noticed something moving from the corner of her eye. She turned to the couch, walking slowly before stopping a moment.

A little furry tail was wiggling out of her handbag, little giggles coming from inside, muffled by the fabric of the bag. She chuckled quietly, putting a paw on her snout, as she made her way to the table.

"Hello, there." She laughed as a little head came out to greet her.

Snufkin peeked out of the bag as he heard her approaching, beaming up at her. How cute, Mamma thought as she smiled fondly at him, passing a gentle paw through his messy hair.

The sight of the baby mumrik in her handbag, smiling and giggling, reminded her of the time when Moomintroll was still a baby. She had found him in her bag once as well. He seemed to be comfortable and happy there. She hadn't been able to take him out of it, instead opting to transport him around in her bag. He had been so happy about it, too, that she had made it a small habit to transport him around in there when he wanted to. 

Maybe...

"How about we go wake up your father so we can all eat some pancakes?" She said, gently picking up the handle of her handbag and lifting it on her arm, the little mumrik still giggling inside of it, after he nodded yes to her excitedly.

MoominMamma headed to the guest room, still carrying a giggly Snufkin in her handbag.   
When she opened the door, she was met with a groggy Joxter. He looked like he was still very tired, but, before she could start to worry again for him, his stomach grumbled.

"The pancakes are ready." She smiled at him. "And you still have the rest of your pie waiting for you."

"PIE!" The little angel in her bag exclaimed, jumping inside and throwing his arms in the air with excitement.

Joxter looked at his small son in surprise, then back at MoominMamma to give her a confused look. She chuckled, putting her free paw over her snout. Joxter’s expression soften as he looked back at his baby son, still watching him with excited eyes, his little stomach gurgling as well.  
Joxter nodded, walking to them and passing a hand through Snufkin’s hair, this one closing his eyes and purring contentedly, making him and MoominMamma chuckle.

The three of them headed downstairs to join the others, already prepared at the table and waiting for them, Little My looking ready to jump on the pancakes as soon as MoominPappa would let go of her.

Mamma gently took Snufkin out of her handbag to settle him on the table in front of his plate as Joxter watched closely, knowing that she wouldn’t hurt him but still preferring to keep an eye on his son, just in case.

This time, the Joxter seemed to have recovered his appetite after a long time napping. MoominMamma watched him silently, making sure he was eating properly, noticing that Snufkin too was looking at his father closely as he ate. She gave them a fond and knowing smile. It seemed that, even in this situation, father like son were worrying about each other.

Dinner passed in a peaceful ambiance, everyone chatting about what they could do the next day, and how they could search for a solution for the curse. Little My spent most of her time complaining about MoominPappa’s useless books, and trying to steal Moomin’s pancakes each time she caught him staring fondly at her little brother. Even Joxter, at some point, seemed to finally returned to his usual self, trying to steal Pappa’s food while still teasing him about whatever they were talking about.

All in all, it was almost as if everything was back to normal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I didn't take one full month writing it (almost)!
> 
> Joxter: *not hungry*  
Everyone around: O_O Something is wrong with him.
> 
> The handbag idea actually comes from Lance(?) and i just 'stole' the idea since they weren't writing anything with it and it was just a simple idea in a random conversation but i thought it'd be perfect to put it in here.
> 
> Thank you Lex for the help looking back on this chapter and what was wrong!
> 
> Thank you all for reading this chapter! This is going to move a little more soon, I promise, I'm still trying to figure out things at the moment but it will come soon (probably).


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this one was quickly made!
> 
> Spring is here for them! They can finally go around the valley and meet other people there!

After a few days, Spring finally came. The sun melting the last of the snow on the ground. It would have been like any other Spring if it hadn’t been for the lack of harmonica at Moomin’s waking.

The young troll would have preferred if Snufkin had been waiting for him on the bridge, peacefully playing his spring tune. Even if he had been late, Moomin was sure it would have been better than this situation they were in. Of course, he loved how cute his baby Snufkin could be, but the idea of what would happen if it stayed that way for too long was too much.

It had only been a week since they had seen the witch but time seemed to be going by so fast, he was worried about what would happen if…

Moomin opened his eyes as he heard a faint noise and felt a weight on his stomach. He could feel the little paws gripping his fur and a small body hauling himself on the troll. Moomin looked down and felt his heart skip a beat as he saw a beautiful baby Snufkin smiling up at him. He smiled back at his friend, as he pushed himself up, his arms wrapping around the mumrik’s frame to make sure he wouldn’t fall back and to lead him to sit in the troll’s lap.

“Hello there” Moomin greeting with a fond smile, passing his paw through Snufkin’s hair.

He tried to force his blush down as he felt his cheeks and ears starting to burn. He was really embarrassed at the idea that his friend could remember all this when he would be back to normal, but at the same time, he was passed the point of trying to stop himself.

Snufkin beamed back at him, his tail swaying happily on Moomin’s leg and purring slightly. They stayed like that for a while, enjoying the moment, until the two of them could smell MoominMamma’s delicious breakfast.

Moomin thought Snufkin was about to get up and run down, as he had been getting better at coming up and down the stairs, as well as different furniture like the beds, the couch, or the chairs and table. But, as he was about to get up, Snufkin turned back to Moomin and threw his arms up, making grabbing paws towards Moomin with pleading eyes.

Moomin chuckled and scooped the little mumrik up in his arms as he stood up, trying to ignore the way Snufkin’s small head rested on his shoulder, his paws clutching lightly at the troll’s fur. He carried him downstairs, joining the others for breakfast.

Moomin had to try his best to not let himself blush at Little My’s and Joxter’s teasing about how fond of him Snufkin seemed to be.

Joxter had seemed a bit odd, ever since their interaction with the witch, in a way so unusual for the mumrik that even Moomintroll, who wasn’t the most observant of trolls, had noticed. 

Now, though, Joxter seemed to be doing better, or at least he was trying to show that he was fine. But, sometimes, the others would catch him, lost deep in his thoughts, a frown on his face, obviously still thinking about what would happen if they couldn’t find another solution before it was too late.

When it would happen, Snufkin would usually escape from their watch to go to his Pappa, climbing on him and either, curling up in his lap, or simply tugging on Joxter’s smock and making grabby paws at him to get him to hold him close.  
They’d stay like that for a while, often ending up napping with each other, until the others had to wake them up to eat.

MoominMamma was worried about him, knowing that he was just trying to act like himself in front of them all, trying to reassure them that he was alright when he was still obviously affected by the situation at hand. 

She had talked with him a few times, when nobody else was around, trying to reassure him that they still had time and that they would find another solution. He was more open with her, as she was ever so patient and observant, acting like the mother she was even with someone like Joxter, and he’d admitted how worried he was about it to her, always questioning how he could ever come to do this to his son, and how this one would react upon everything that had happened because of his father. Of course, his honesty had limits, even with her, as he would often end up closing in on himself, trying to make it look like he was fine, like he was feeling better when she knew he wasn’t.

Even MoominPappa was aware of all this, sometimes trying to hint at Joxter that he could come annoy him, as Pappa wasn’t one for long emotional talk like Mamma was, and knew his friend wouldn’t be one to talk about this kind of things with him. The only solution he had found was to slip in a comment about Joxter not being allowed to do this or that, to get him to change his mind and go against him. He would act offended each time but, he knew that Joxter had caught on his intention, although he wasn’t saying it.

When all this would be over he would be better. They just had to give it more time, to help Joxter change his mind and keep taking care of their baby Snufkin until they found the right solution.

It was finally the first day of Spring, which meant they could finally go out without worrying about the cold and the snow. They could go and enjoy the sun melting the last of the snow and watching the new flowers blooming around.

MoominMamma offered to the children to go out after their breakfast, already sensing Snufkin’s need to go out and enjoy the spring air. Little My complained about having to always babysit her little brother while Joxter napped, but they could all tell that she was only trying to convince them that she didn’t want to do it, obviously enjoying spending time with her baby brother.

So, with that, Little My and Moomin went out, calling out to Snufkin to stay close to them as he immediately hurried out of the door when they opened it. Little My huffed as she watch her brother go without listening to them, Moomin already running after him to make sure nothing could happen to him.

Snufkin ran down the path, seemingly already decided on where he wanted to go, until he reached the bridge. He stopped there, going to his knees and leaning forward on the edge of the bridge. He looked excitedly in the water bellow, his tail wagging behind him as he watched the first few fish of the season swimming under him, absolutely unaware of his presence above them.

As he watched them however, he started to lean in more, too immersed in their beauty and in the way their body moved in the water, to notice himself slowly getting closer and closer to the surface of the water.

Moomin was almost to the bridge, too focused on getting the air in and out of his lungs as he finally stopped to notice the little mumrik slowly falling down. Little My, who had been walking quickly behind the troll, sprinted towards the bridge, passing Moomintroll and catching her little brother just as he was about to fall off, nose first into the still cold water.

Little My huffed as she tugged him back to the middle of the bridge, her brother being about the same weight and height as her in his young age making it difficult for her to do anything else. She let herself fall down on the floor when she was sure he was safe, panting from the effort. She ignored Moomin as he quickly tried to reach for them, asking if they were okay.

“What were you thinking?!” Little My, finally able to breath again, snapped. “You could have hurt yourself, or gotten yourself sick! Do you even know how to swim? Don’t go falling in the water so easily!”

“Little My…” Moomin tried to reach to put a paw on her shoulder to help her calm down, but she didn’t want it, shoving it away as she focused only on her brother.

Snufkin sat there, in front of her, as he listened to her scolding. His head was hanging low, his teary eyes looking down at the wooden path under him as he wrapped his tail around him. His paws were clutching at the fabric of his little smock, shaking slightly as he pouted.

“Listen,” Little My, softening, started again, sighing as she realized that she was scaring him with her shouting, “I know you didn’t do it on purpose, but you need to be more careful or you’ll get hurt. You can’t go and put yourself in easily avoidable danger just because you’re curious.”

Snufkin looked up at her with his teary eyes, still not lifting his head up. “S- Sorry” He apologized guiltily.

Little My sighed again, hesitating for a moment before reluctantly, or so she was trying to convince herself, opening her arms. Snufkin’s ears perked up slightly, his eyes looking at her for a moment before he moved. He slowly, hesitantly, crawled towards her, settling in her arms as she wrapped them around him, as reassuring as she could manage.

Snufkin relaxed quickly in her arms, nuzzling against her shoulder as she squeezed him gently. She glanced at Moomintroll, remembering suddenly that he was watching them too, to realize that he was smirking at her.

“I would never have thought that i’d see the day you’d act like a big sister.” He mocked, muffling his laugh in his paw as she glared daggers at him, her face slightly pink.

“Oh shu-” She started, cutting herself off as she realized she shouldn’t swear in front of her brother. She’d done that without any problem when he was older just to bother him as she knew he didn’t like it, but now that he was just a kid, she couldn’t do it. “Shush!” She exclaimed, blushing more as Moomin laughed, not bothering to muffle it this time. 

She tried to ignore it as she turned her attention back to the mumrik in her arms. She gently let go of him, letting him step back, before she got to her feet, leaning towards him to grab him by his armpits and pulling him up to stand. Snufkin seemed to be feeling better than before, his teary eyes now bright and curious again.

“Now, don’t you go running off on us again.” Little My said firmly, making sure that Snufkin would obey this time. “You’ll have to stay by our side, understood?”

Snufkin nodded, his eyes serious as to show that he really understood and would obey this time. Moomin knelt next to him as Little My hummed, seeming satisfied, and stroked Snufkin’s hair, earning a small purr from the mumrik who leaned into the touch with a content smile.

It didn’t last long, however, as they all jumped in surprise as they heard someone calling them from farther up on the path. They all turned looking up to see Snorkmaiden hurrying down the path, waving happily at them.

“Moomiiin! Little My!” She called excitedly.

Moomin waved back at her, smiling back, he could feel Snufkin retreating behind his leg to hide from the new stranger coming their way. Little My huffed as the girl came closer to them, giving them a bright and happy greeting, moving closer to Moomin’s leg to hide Snufkin and reassure him that she was there.

“What a beautiful first day of Spring!” Snorkmaiden said happily as she stopped in front of them. “Did you sleep well?”

“Hi, Snorkmaiden, well-” Moomin started speaking but he was cut off when she started talking again.

“Oh no! Don’t tell me you had nightmares about Snufkin not coming back, keeping you up from sleeping all winter, again!” She said with concern and something else that he couldn’t get in her voice. “By the way, I don’t see his tent, is he not back yet?”

“If you’d let Moomin talk he would have said that he couldn’t sleep the last few days because we had visitors.” Little My huffed, crossing her arms, but then she smiled mischievously and turned her head to look up at the troll. “But he did wake up a lot screaming something about Snufkin.”

“Shu-” He stopped as she gave him a look warning him to not finish what he was about to say. “It’s not true! I slept perfectly well, thank you very much!” He said, blushing furiously as he crossed his arms and looked away in an attempt to not let them see how red he was.

“Well, I couldn’t stay asleep because someone kept waking me up by screaming things like ‘No! Snufkin, please come back! I love you! I’m sorry!’ or ‘Snufkin! No! Let him go you monster!’ in the middle of the night.” She mocked, imitating the trolls voice in a quite humiliating fashion, forcing him to almost choke on his own saliva as he swallowed hard at her words.

Little My and Snorkmaiden laughed at his reaction, teasing him on how red his face had gotten. Moomin was about to protest when he felt small paws pulling timidly on his tail. He looked down behind him, as they weren’t watching, to see a very confused little Snufkin looking at him with a question and concern in his eyes. 

Moomin felt himself blush harder as he realized that Snufkin had heard everything. He was slightly relieved that it was only baby Snufkin, but the idea that he could remember everything that had happened as he was cursed into his baby form came back to him, causing him to feel his chest tighten, suddenly aware of all the contact he’d had with Snufkin those days and how much he was obvious.

“A- Anyway,” Moomin coughed, trying to regain his composure and the girl’s attention. “Like My said, we had visitors over the last few days of winter. The Joxter and Snufkin came back early this year.”

“Oh? Is Snufkin already here? But, I don’t see his tent anywhere! And, shouldn’t he be with you? He didn’t already went back on a trip, did he?” Snorkmaiden asked, confused.

“Snufkin is right there!” Little My said, a note of pride in her voice as she stepped away from Moomin, revealing the little child, still hiding behind Moomin’s legs.

He was looking at her now, a little scared and shy. It looked as if she was intimidating him, somehow. She gasped loudly, scaring him and making him retreat back behind Moomin’s legs to hide his face.

“Is that really Snufkin??” She exclaimed, shocked for a moment.

“Yes.” Moomin nodded, as did Little My, before continuing to explain the situation. “Joxter got him cursed when he argued too much with a witch. She cursed him back into a child, so Joxter took him back here to get some help to find out how to get Snufkin back to normal.”

Snorkmaiden hummed in understanding, kneeling in front of Snufkin as she listened. Snufkin was avoiding looking at her, obviously scared of her, for some reason. 

Then she couldn’t hold it any longer.

“AWWW!” She exclaimed, scaring the poor Snufkin again as she threw her paws to cup her own cheeks, looking in awe at the baby mumrik. “He’s such a cutie as a child! Can I hold him?” She asked excitedly, almost pleadingly, looking up at Moomintroll.

“I don’t know.” Moomin said hesitantly, seeing Snufkin look up at him with big scared eyes before hiding again behind him, clutching the fur of his legs tightly, shakily, his head buried in his furry legs.

“No.” Little My said firmly, approaching her little brother and letting him cling to her, wrapping his arms around her as he hugged her close. She put a paw on his back, the other one pointing accusingly at Snorkmaiden. “You’re scaring him. Stop, shouting and stop being so close to him!” She scolded, earning a offended gasp from her friend.

“I’m not shouting!” She said defensively, crossing her arms and pouting. “And I’m not a scaring person. I don’t see why  I would be the one scaring him! Plus, you’re shouting as well! He’d probably be more scared of you than me!” She huffed.

“Little My is right, Snorkmaiden.” Moomin sighed, kneeling down and stroking Snufkin’s hair comfortingly. “Sorry, but it appears you scared him quite badly.”

“But, I’m not scary…” She said, obviously disappointed and hurt that she would scare the poor kid that bad so easily, her ears dropping a little.

Little My and Moomin tried to reassure Snufkin for a few minutes, trying to tell him that she was his friend and that she wasn’t someone he should fear. Snorkmaiden tried to apologize a few times, trying to show to the poor mumrik that she wasn’t bad and that he didn’t have to be scared of her.

It took a bit of convincing and a few minutes, but, it seemed that Snufkin finally decided he could try looking at her again. He turned his face slightly, still pressed against Little My’s shoulder and Moomin’s paw still going through his hair, only looking at her with one eye. He still looked scared but there was also more curiosity now.

“Hey there.” Snorkmaiden smiled at him gently, holding out a paw for the mumrik to take. “I don’t bite, I promise.”

“Yeah! That’s my job!” Little My said proudly as she let go of her brother.

They all laughed, even Snufkin giggled at her statement, reassuring everyone that he would be fine now. He timidly took her paw, looking at her when she shook it slowly with a kind smile.

“Can I carry you?” She asked again, this time directly to the mumrik and in a much calmer manner, to not scare him again.

Snufkin looked at her for a moment, seeming to be thinking about it, before turning his head to Moomin with a question in his eyes. Moomin smiled warmly and nodded, as did Little My when he looked at her too.

Snufkin looked back at her, nodding timidly. She beamed at him, happy to get the chance to carry her charming baby friend. She carefully took him in her arms, settling him nicely against her chest, his little head close to her shoulder but not yet daring to rest on it, only his little paws hesitantly clutching her fur a little.

“See.” Little My said to her brother with a grin. “She’s not scary and she won’t hurt you.”

Snufkin nodded, smiling a little, but still a little unsure. He looked back at Snorkmaiden, searching her face for a moment. She beamed at him, a nice, beautiful and warm smile. He blushed a little, his tail moving gently against her stomach as he finally relaxed a little in her arms. She giggled at the ticklish sensation, making Snufkin giggle as well, now fully relaxed. They all giggled for a moment.

Then, They heard someone else calling for them. They all turned to look at the figure running out of the forest and, as Snorkmaiden had done before, waving at them.

“Alicia!” Snorkmaiden exclaimed, apologizing when she felt Snufkin’s paws squeeze her fur a little at the startling sound. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you studying with your grandma?” She asked the girl as she stopped in front of them, greeting them happily.

“I came to see how Snufkin was doing.” She said as she reached out to pass a careful hand in Snufkin’s hair, smiling happily as the mumrik let her do it without protesting.

“Hey!” Snorkmaiden said, pouting. “Why isn’t he scared of you?”

“He saw her before.” Moomin said to reassure her. “We went to the witch to get her help to find a way to get him back to normal.”

“By the way,” Little My said suddenly, jumping on Moomin’s tail and climbing up until she was perched on his head, “Did you two find anything yet? It’s already been a week!”

“No, not yet.” Alicia sighed sadly. “But Grandma said she was going south to find some other books, and question other witches to see if she can find any information. That’s why I’m here actually. She said to come check on him often while she was out, and to come tell you about her plan. She said it wasn’t to reassure you or anything, but because she didn’t want any of you coming home and bothering me while she was away.” She chuckled, all of them joining her as they new very well that she was, in fact, wanting to reassure them, but not wanting to look like she cared.

“Actually, we were about to go see if Too-Ticky knew anybody that could help us. But, I guess we should go tell Joxter and Mamma about the witch first.” Moomin said thoughtfully.

“That might be best.” Little My agreed.

“Oh! I’ve never met with the Joxter!” Snorkmaiden noted, a little anxious.

“Pappa is a nice Pappa!” Snufkin said suddenly, smiling wildly, proudly, at the mention of his father.

“Yeah, but don’t do anything to my baby brother or he’ll kill you.” Little My teased, grinning wildly. She was so happy to hear her brother’s baby voice and see him so excited about his father.

“Let’s go then.” Moomin said, pushing down his urge to take his baby friend in his arms again and kiss his forehead at how cute he is.

With that they all marched back towards the house, Snorkmaiden still carrying Snufkin, a bit anxious about meeting her friend’s father for the first time in such situation. Little My wasn’t helping as she kept joking about what he could do to her if anything happened to his son under her watch, scolded by Moomin as Alicia just laughed. Snufkin was a little confused at why anyone would be afraid of his father and looking at Little My in confusion, not understanding why she was talking about his father like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't expect to write this chapter so quickly, but I guess I was just too inspired this time.  
I have no idea how long I'll keep up like that but I'll try my best to be better at giving you all the chapters faster than one every month.
> 
> I'm not sure yet about where I'll go with all this but, hey, now there's Snorkmaiden too to help take care of this cute angel baby Snufkin. And there will be more teasing on Moomin now that she's here with Little My. That poor Moomin is going to die, but from what first? Will it be from embarrassment? From being teased by everyone? Or from How cute Snufkin is?
> 
> Guess you'll know (and me too) in another episode!
> 
> Thank you for reading this fic (and putting up with my bullshit)! I hope you enjoyed that chapter!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little warning: I was too lazy and tired to proofread so, yeah
> 
> A little bit more of Too-Ticky in coming, more blushing Moomin, and more sibling time.

When they entered the house, the first thing they could see was Joxter, lazily sleeping on the couch, his feet resting on MoominPappa’s lap as this one read his newspaper, seemingly annoyed by it but trying not to react. 

MoominMamma, who was still washing the dishes in the kitchen, looked at them through the doorway, smiling and greeting Snorkmaiden and Alicia.

“I didn’t thought you’d be back already.” She noted, whipping her paws on her apron as she came in the room.

“We won’t stay long.” Moomin said, looking nervously at Joxter as this one opened an eye to look at them. “Alicia just came to let us know that the Witch was gone south to do more researches.”

“Found nothing here then?” Joxter huffed quietly, his tail flicking lightly, just high enough to hit Pappa’s newspaper and make him groan.

His eyes wandered to his son, still in Snorkmaiden’s arms. He was calm and relaxed, looking at his father with his baby brown eyes.

“H-Hello.” Snorkmaiden greeted anxiously.

“Must be Snorkmaiden, then.” Joxter grinned. “Congratulation, it seems my little boy appreciates you enough to let you carry him.” He teased, knowing fully well, from the way Little My smiled mischievously and the way the poor girl seemed anxious, that she had been warned about him in some way or another by the little gremlin. “Don’t worry. I won’t bite you unless anything happen to my kit.” He laughed as she swallowed hard, tensing up a little.

“Pappa!” Snufkin pouted, making Joxter laugh even more, joined by Little My this time.

“Joxter…” MoominPappa sighed, annoyed. “Don’t scare her, and get away from me! I’m trying to read here. Because you can’t doesn’t mean you have to stop me from doing it!” He groaned, glaring down at the smirking Joxter.

“Don’t worry, dear,” MoominMamma intervened, giggling a little, “He’s just teasing you. Don’t listen to him or what Little My told you about him.” She reassured gently, giving the older mumrik a look as he was about to tease her some more. “Thank you for telling us about your grandma’s plan Alicia. Since you’re here you’ll stay for dinner, won’t you?”

“Of course!” Alicia said cheerfully. “Grandma didn’t say I couldn’t, after all.”

“Good.” Mamma smiled.

“We should go see Too-Ticky now?” Moomin asked the other. “She should still be at the bathhouse for now.”

The other nodded and with that, they headed back outside, ignoring Joxter as he teased MoominPappa some more, making him scold him again, trying to shoo him and get him to go with the children so he wouldn’t stay in his way, which obviously meant Joxter was absolutely not going to move.

They made their way to the beach, happily chatting together, Little My still teasing Snorkmaiden about Joxter while Moomin and Alicia talked about the Witch and what Alicia planned on doing while her grandmother was out. Snufkin, him, had been put back to the ground, left to wander around as long as he stayed close by and was careful, as Little My had reminded him as soon as his feet at hit the ground.

As soon as they reach the beach, Snufkin stopped, looking in awe at the sea in front of him. The other continued on their way to the bath house, not noticing that he wasn’t following anymore. Little My, however, quickly realized it and went back for him.

“Don’t go jumping in the water this time.” She huffed, remembering what had happened earlier in the winter. “Guess I’m the one babysitting you again, huh?” She said before plopping on the sandy ground.

Snufkin looked at her in confusion for a moment, staring at her until she shooed him away with a motion of hand, telling him without a word that he could go play around. He nodded at her, smiling brightly, before running around on the beach. 

He knew he had to stay away from the water, to not worry his sister and anybody else again, but he could run around and enjoy the beautiful view of the sea spreading like it would never head in the horizon, and digging through the sand to find curious looking shells. Of course, Snufkin, even in his baby form, wasn’t one for much useless possession, instead either leaving them where he found them, or running back to his sister to ask her if she wanted it.

Little My played the annoyed sister, huffing every time he would come to her with a new beautiful shell in his little paws and giving him a slightly annoyed “Sure, whatever.” as he handed it to her questioning if she’d like to keep it. Of course, although she acted like it was annoying her, she was actually really enjoying it. The fact that Snufkin was actually thinking about giving anything to her like that was so sweet, it was something she really would have never thought could happen with him.

Meanwhile, inside the bathhouse, Moomin, Alicia and Snorkmaiden were watching Too-Ticky as she cleaned the small room, trying to get it as clear as possible before leaving. She was silently thinking about their question, trying to remember if she could know anyone that could help, as the others watched her patiently.

“Hm,” She hummed to herself, putting the broom in the closet before closing it, “I’m sorry. All the people I can think of wouldn’t know anything about curses like this one.” She sighed, leaning against the wall and crossing her arms before looking at them. “I’m afraid the only solution you have would be to wait for the Witch to come back and hope she could find something.”

“Can’t you think of anything else that could help us?” Moomintroll pleaded, fidgeting with his tail. “Like, maybe somewhere we could go to find books that could help?”

“I’m sorry, Moomin, but the only places I know don’t have anything like that. All they have are books quite like what you said your father had. I’m afraid it’d be a waste of time.” She said blankly.

They all sighed, defeated and disappointed that they couldn’t do anything to help. They stared at the ground in silence for a moment, ignoring the way the other mumrik was looking at them.

“You know,” Too-Ticky finally broke the silence, smiling gently at them as they looked up at her, “The only thing I could think of for you to do would be to enjoy your time with him. Make sure he’s having the best time of his life.” She laughed a little. “No matter what happens, you know that you have a way to make him come back to normal before it’s too late. That might not be a good solution, but it’s still one. If you have to resort to that solution, it’d probably be a little easier on Snufkin if you made sure he’d spent a really good time before that.”

“I guess you’re right.” Moomin sighed, looking out the window and watching Snufkin running back and forth, bringing seashells to his sister. “I hope we won’t have to do that to him, though.”

“We all hope so.” Too-Ticky said calmly, following his gaze and smiling at the little mumrik outside. “I’m sure he’ll be fine though. And I’m pretty sure the Witch will find something.”

“How can you be so sure?” Snorkmaiden asked.

“Just a feeling.” The mumrik smirked.

The other looked at each other, not really sure what it meant, but shrugged, thinking if Too-Ticky said so then they should probably believe it. Anyway, it was better to get attached to that idea than to mope around thinking they won’t be able to find anything else in time. She was giving them a little more hope and they weren’t about to throw it away.

“I’m sure Grandma will find something.” Alicia agreed, a determined and confident look on her face. “She’ll find something, that’s why she’s gone. We have to believe in her. She’s a very resourceful Witch after all.”

They all nodded, feeling a little more confident the more they thought about it. The Witch would find a way. She always did. They just had to wait until she came back, then everything would go back to normal quickly. Yes. Everything would be fine.

“Then,” Too-Ticky started again, drawing back the attention to her, “I’ll be leaving. You can thank your parents for me Moomintroll. I’m really thankful for them letting me borrow the bathhouse for the winter again.”

“You’re always welcome to stay here, Too-Ticky.” Moomin beamed at her. “You know that they will never mind. And thank you for your advice.”

“I didn’t really do anything, but you’re welcome.” She replied as she headed out, followed by the rest. “I’ll try to come back before the end of Autumn to see everybody before Snufkin leave for south again.”

She was about to say her goodbyes, finally stepping off of the dock and onto the sand when a little Snufkin approached her, half hidden behind Little My. The little mymble seemed annoyed but she handed Too-Ticky something.

“Here!” She huffed, looking away and crossing her arms. “Snufkin wants to give you this. You can give it to Mumble if you don’t want to bother with it.”

Too-Ticky laughed as she took the seashell in her paw, examining it. Meanwhile, Little My proceeded to give one to Alicia, another to Snorkmaiden and then, she threw one in Moomin’s face, the shell sticking to his snout as he groan at her.

Snufkin joined her maniacal laughter, giggling softly, still behind her. While Moomin and Little My argued, Too-Ticky approached Snufkin calmly.

“Thank you, little Snufkin. I’ll be happy to keep it.” She said, waiting for a moment before slowly, enough for Snufkin to see her coming and stop her, reached out to pet his hair.

The young mumrik beamed at her, seeming happy that she liked the small gift. She was quickly joined by Snorkmaiden and Alicia, both thanking him warmly and hugging him, one after the other, delighted to be allowed to do that to their usually distant friend.

They all turned around to look at Moomin and Little My, Moomin was chasing after her as she ran around, still laughing and making fun of him. They all laughed at their antics as they watched them.

Finally, Moomin, too out of breath to continue his chase, turned back towards them, blushing a little as he noticed their staring. He coughed awkwardly, trying to ignore Little My as she continued to tease him.

“Now, now, you two, calm down.” Too-Ticky chuckled, putting a paw in front of her mouth. “I really need to go now. I’ll see all of you in the Autumn.” She turned toward Snufkin, smiling gently down at him. “I’m sure everything will be alright.” She reassured all of them one last time.

With that, She started walking away, waving back at them when they called out to her, thanking her again and wishing her a safe travel. She smiled again as she could hear a little baby Snufkin calling out to her as well with the other.

Yes, she thought, 

Back at the beach, Moomin and the others watched her back as she walked away. When they couldn’t see her anymore, they decided it would probably be a good time to head back towards the house, thinking that if they still had some time, they could play outside for a while with their baby friend before going back in to eat.

As they started to walk back, everyone talking together, Moomin stayed slightly in the back, making sure that Snufkin was still with them as he seemed to be taking his time to follow them.  
He could hear the girls talking in front of them, planning on what kind of activity they could all share back home, he only registered a few of them, noting that Alicia wanted to try to help MoominMamma with the cooking and wishing to have her teach her new recipe to cook for her grandmother. He distantly thought about how nice it would be if he could learn to cook as well, maybe he could cook something for Snufkin then, maybe even impress him.

He shook his head, looking back at the shell in his paw, it looked almost like a heart to his eyes. The thought made him blush again, his mind racing as he realized that he’d been the only one with such form as the others were rather beautiful but still more natural shapes. He tried to convince himself that Snufkin just didn’t really realize it as he gave it to him, or that it was just Little My’s idea to tease him even more. Then, as he started to relax a little, he suddenly realized that he hadn’t even thanked the young mumrik.

He approached Snufkin as he had stopped to look down at a particularly beautiful flower. The view of the flower as he stood silently behind his friend suddenly gave him an idea, he would have to do it later, maybe it would even be worth trying to sneak out in the night for it, but for now, he had to thank Snufkin for his present and make sure this one would still follow the group.

“It’s quite a beautiful flower.” He noted, smiling down as the little mumrik turned to look up at him, nodding. “But you shouldn’t stop for too long, you’ll get lost behind.” Moomin warned gently.

Snufkin looked at his feet for a moment, nodding silently. Moomin couldn’t help but notice the disappointment of his friend. He was about to offer the mumrik to come back later and let him run around more freely, when this one looked back up at him again, a slight grin on his face. Moomin started, almost not able to to contain the yelp in his throat, as his adorable little friend jump up, little paws flying towards the troll’s shoulder and gripping the fur tightly until Moomin had recovered enough to wrap his arms around him and readjusted him in his arms.

“You’re quite a needy one.” Moomin sighed happily, blushing a little at the beautiful grin he received in answer, before nuzzling Snufkin’s hair, this one letting out soft giggling. “Thank you for the shell.” He whispered in his hair.

He smiled at him again as he pulled back. He was sure his face was fully red, up to his ears, by now, but he didn’t care for once. How could he care about such silly things when he was carrying such an adorable angel in his arms.

“Let’s get back to the others before they notice that we’re not behind them anymore.” He said quietly as he started walking again. He could feel Snufkin nodding against him, a slight hum coming out of him in agreement.

Luckily for Moomin, the girls where still too focused on their conversation to notice when they came back. They seemed to be planning to have some tea party with while the Witch was gone, not really planning on the boys to be around for that, not that Moomin was very interested in such silly things. They finally turned to look at them just to tell Moomin that he wouldn’t be allowed, Little My even smirked at him, mentioning how lucky he was to have a chance to be alone with his dear Snufkin, to which they all laughed as Moomin made a complaining noise, his ears turning pink as Snufkin looked between each of the in confusion.

Moomin regretted thinking that he’d been lucky they hadn’t noticed them being gone as they continued to tease him all the way back home. Snufkin was still confused but he laughed with them when they commented on how the troll’s face could turn red so easily, making Moomin blush even more in embarrassment.

Back at home, MoominMamma greeted them happily, asking gently how the visit went. As they all sat around the table to eat the meal that she had already prepared for them, talking about what happened at the beach despite there being only little to say about it, Snufkin quickly went back to get the attention of his father.

Joxter couldn’t help but laugh as Snufkin requested to stay on his lap as they ate, even scolding him slightly when Joxter playfully tried to steal his meal. The younger mumrik even taking revenge on him by stealing a piece of his part of the cake Mamma had made for everyone.

The rest of the day was quieter than anyone could have thought, Alicia deciding that she should head back home right after eating as she was still supposed to study even while her grandmother was out. Snorkmaiden stayed a little longer, playing hide and seek with the other for a while before, too, deciding that she should head back home to make sure her brother would eat his dinner.

Snufkin spent most of his time playing with them, until he took notice of his father napping in a corner of the living room, on the floor. He then proceeded to join him, curling up like a cat against him, sighing contentedly when Joxter curled up around him, his arms coming to envelop him in a warm embrace. Joxter nuzzled his hair a little, smiling when his son giggled, before the two of them settled to sleep again, soft purrs coming from them as they slept peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this chapter.
> 
> I don't know how but those days I've been doing better at writing, I cannot guarantee that i'll keep this pace but i'll try my best to continue to update this fic as quick as possible.  
We're slowly approaching to the end as things will get a bit faster from now on, can't get the story to stay at the same pace for too long or everyone will be bored to death despite the cute baby Snuf in action. Hopefully this isn't being too boring already.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to post this one!
> 
> But, here it is! More cute baby Snuf on the way!!

After a few weeks of playing and distracting the young mumrik, everyone was starting to grow a bit anxious. They loved to take care of their adorable Snufkin, of course, but they still hadn’t had any news from the Witch, and it was starting to make some feel a little paranoid. 

It hadn’t been that long yet, just about a month since she had told them about the curse, but even as they tried to reassure themselves that they still had a month and maybe more to go, not having any news was starting to worry them.

Did the Witch find anything yet? Did she not find anything at all and was it why she wasn’t contacting them yet? Was she on her way back? Where had she gone that it could take her so long? Would she ever come back to tell them if she couldn’t find anything at all? Had something happened to her?

So many question left unanswered, slowly starting to form in everybody’s mind. Nobody voiced them however, not wanting to make the others worry as well, but they all knew, just a glance at each other and they could tell that they were thinking the same.

Alicia kept coming to MoominHouse to play with her friends, and get some more time with baby Snufkin. She tried her best to reassure them everytime, telling them that she trusted her grandmother, and that she would be back soon with good news for them, that she was sure of it. Her confidence and trust on the Witch worked a little to reassure them, but the questions and worry remained.

That night, Alicia had decided to stay at MoominHouse, at MoominMamma’s invitation, as a thunderstorm was making its way to MoominValley. She’d accepted the offer gladly, only asking shyly MoominMamma if she could help her cook dinner for everyone in turn. She still hadn’t tried to ask her to teach her how to cook yet, too busy studying her witchcraft and playing with the other, until now. Of course, Mamma agreed, happy to get some help with the cooking and to be able to spend a little more time with the soon-to-be-witch girl.

Meanwhile, Little My, MoominPappa and Joxter had settled down on the living room table to play some card games. MoominPappa kept complaining about them, scolding them for cheating and teaming up against him while the two others just laughed, continuing to cheat to annoy him more.

Moomin and Snufkin had gone up to Moomin’s room, as Moomin didn’t want to deal with the trio downstairs and Snufkin didn’t seemed very interested in their game either.   
The troll was peacefully sitting on his bed, resting his back against the headboard as he read a book out loud so the little mumrik could enjoy the story as well. This one was sitting on the windowsill, looking out of the window with wide eyes. He seemed fascinated by the sight of the rain falling outside, his little paws resting against the window as if he would reach out to feel the rain if this one wasn’t closed.

Everything was perfect and peaceful, until… A sudden flash of lightning crashed outside, illuminating suddenly the whole room with a bright, blinding light, before it went back to normal, leaving just a small candle light to illuminate the room, soon followed by the loud sound of thunder ahead.

Moomin had jumped a little at the sudden flash and the loud noise, but he hadn’t expected to see Snufkin jump like that, even less hear the scared yelp that came out of his little mouth as he jumped back, falling onto the ground with a soft ‘bonk’.

Moomin looked at him for a moment, stunned, before hurrying to pick him up. He fussed over him, quickly examining him to make sure he hadn’t hurt himself. Snufkin was shaking, paws clutching at his smock. Moomin was a bit worried at first, thinking maybe he was hurt, but after making sure he wasn’t, when he looked up at the little boy’s face, he thought he might have an idea of why he was reacting that way.

Another lightning flash made the poor mumrik jump and yelp again, Moomin chuckling quietly next to him as Snufkin turned his head away from him. Even as he wasn’t looking at him, Moomin could see that he was pouting, his face growing pink as his eyes filled with tears that he wouldn’t allow to fall.

Moomin, without a word, took him in his arms again, getting up and walking back to his bed. He sat back against the headboard, settling the still pouting baby mumrik on his lap. This one crossed his arms, looking away from the smiling Moomin.

He couldn’t hold the façade for long, however, as another crash of thunder startled him again. He unconsciously leaned against the troll, clutching his fur tightly in his little paws and closing his eyes in fear.

Moomin could have died there, or cry, this little Snufkin in his arms was so precious, so adorable. He didn’t know how he could survive like this until they found out how to get him back to normal.

He wrapped his arms around Snufkin’s little frame, pulling him closer to him. He felt the mumrik stiffen for a second before relaxing, burying his face in Moomin’s soft fur. Moomin nuzzled his hair gently, whispering reassurances to him every time another crash would scare the little one. The poor mumrik was still shaking in his arms, but, after a little while, he finally relaxed a little, the calm and reassuring presence of Moomin soothing him just enough that he wouldn’t jump at every crash of thunder anymore.

When Moomin felt that Snufkin was calm enough, he pulled the cover over the both of them, making sure the little mumrik would be warm, before grabbing his book again. Still holding the small child close to his chest with one arm, he started to read again, more softly as to not hurt the mumrik’s sensitive ears.

They stayed like that for a while, Moomin holding Snufkin close, as this one slowly relaxed in them, his grip on the moomin’s fur loosening as time passed. He kept reading quietly for the both of them, waiting for the storm to pass by.

It could have been minutes or hours, Moomin couldn’t tell as he’d gotten so focused into the story that he’d lost track of time, when he felt as though something had changed. He looked at the window, the storm was still there, rain flowing down heavily and crashes of thunder echoing outside from time to time. He looked around him for a moment, wondering what was bothering him, why it seemed different somehow. Then, he looked down at the light weight on his chest. What he found made his heart melt, so much that he had to fight the urge to make any adoring sound.

Snufkin was curled up in his lap, paws still gripping lightly his fur as he slept, his head buried in Moomin’s chest and his tail wrapped protectively over himself.

Before even realising what he was doing, Moomin was stroking Snufkin’s hair lovingly. He found himself smiling stupidly and shook his head, feeling himself blushing at his own actions.

Really there wasn’t much to do in such situation, he re-adjusted his position, so he was laying with Snufkin on top of him, and putting the book on his nightstand before pulling the cover over them both. Snufkin groaned a little, his grip tightening for a moment, as he was being moved, before relaxing again once Moomin was comfortable, still fast asleep. With that, Moomin closed his eyes, deciding to join his baby friend and sleep peaceful, not bothered by the small weight on his chest and the slight purring coming from the little mumrik.

Waking was slow and hard. He was so comfortable, so sleepy still, yet, he could hear birds singing outside, telling him that it was probably passed time to get up. Reluctantly, Moomin opened his eyes.

He looked down at his chest, at the baby mumrik, still fast asleep and clinging in his sleep. He smiled fondly, once again letting his paw run through Snufkin’s hair without thinking and earning the purrs to intensify.

He really didn’t want to break this peaceful moment, but he could see as he glanced out the window that the sun was already high in the sky. He knew that, no matter what, if he didn’t get up quickly enough, Little My would be the one to come up to him and force him up, probably pulling some prank or complaining about him sleeping in, or both.

Moomin sighed defeatedly, looking back at his little friend. His mouth was slightly open, a little fang showing, and a small trickle of saliva falling onto Moomin’s fur where his little head was resting.

Moomin, still smiling fondly at the little boy, patted his head gently, calling his name in a soft voice.

“Snufkin? Snufkin. It’s time to wake up.”

Snufkin frowned, making complaining noises as he buried his face in the white fur. Moomin had to muffle his fond chuckles as he try to shake the child’s shoulders.

“Come on, Snuf. It’s time to get up.” Moomin nuzzled Snufkin’s hair as he sat up, cradling him to his chest as he did. “Mamma’s pancakes will get cold.”

At that, the little ball that was Snufkin lifted it’s head, eyes slowly opening and looking up at the troll with big brown eyes.

“Hullo there.” Moomin cooed, smiling from ear to ear.

Snufkin didn’t say anything, blushing lightly and burying his face in Moomin’s fur again, his arms wrapping as much as their small size could around Moomin in a hug that Moomin happily returned.

“We should head downstairs now.” Moomin nuzzled the cute angel’s hair again. “You seem hungry.”

He could feel Snufkin nodding against him, the lack of movement from the child making him guess that he would have to carry him downstairs in his arms.   
Not like he minded much.

With that Moomin picked up Snufkin and stood up, making his way towards the stairs with his arms full of a baby mumrik, still clinging to him and half asleep against his chest.

“Good morning, my dears.” MoominMamma greeted them as they made their way to the kitchen. “Little My, Snorkmaiden and Alicia are playing outside, you can join them once you’re done with your breakfast.” She said casually as she set two plates of pancakes on the kitchen table.

Moomin thanked her politely, sitting the little child on the table in front of one of the plates before sitting next to him and starting to eat his own.

They ate in silence, Moomin looking at Snufkin all the while, carefully, to make sure that he wouldn’t need help, as this one eagerly bit down his pancakes, his tail wagging happily behind him.

When they were both done, Moomin picked Snufkin back up and made his way to the veranda. He greeted politely the Joxter, who was lazily curled up on the bench, one eye peering at Moomin from under the brim of his hat as as this one passed by, Snufkin waving excitedly at his father.

“Look who finally decided to get up.” Little My huffed loudly as she watched the two boys coming their way.

“Good morning Moomin.” Alicia and Snorkmaiden greeted him with a laugh, making their way to meet them halfway on the bridge.

“Hello, there, little Snufkin.” Snorkmaiden said gleefully, leaning forward to stroke the child’s hair as he beamed and giggled at her, enjoying her delicate attention.

“Morning.” Moomin yawned at them. “What were you all doing?”

“Waiting for you mainly.” Little My grumbled as she joined them, jumping on the railing of the bridge and crossing her arms. “We wanted to go to the beach to see if the storm brought anything interesting but they said we should wait for you two.” She huffed.

“Come on!” Snorkmaiden pushed him forward excitedly. “Let’s go see if the storm brought anything interesting. Oh! Maybe we’ll find a pearl necklace, lost by a beautiful princess at sea.” She started to get lost in her own fantasy, letting go of Moomin when this one started to walk with them.

Alicia and Little My followed the Snorkmaiden, starting to talk about the previous times a storm had brought some kind of knick-knacks. 

Looking back at Moominhouse one last time, Moomin noticed MoominPappa on the porch, nudging Joxter and saying something as this one lifted his hat a notch to look at him, he pointed towards the group as he talked and Moomin could see the Joxter’s reluctance to do whatever the older moomin was telling him to do. It didn’t take long before Joxter was standing up, hat still hiding his face and hunched over as he made his way towards the group, like a child that just got scolded for something and got told to head off after that.

Snufkin’s yawning drew back Moomin’s attention to him. The little boy seemed to still be very sleepy, nuzzling against Moomin’s fur to make himself comfortable.

A tired sigh made Moomin turn to look at Joxter, now walking beside him, paws in the pockets of his smock and head down. He glanced at back at Moomin as he felt his eyes on him.

“Pappa told you to stop lazing around?” Moomin asked tentatively, raising one eyebrow at him.

“Yep.” Joxter huffed, looking at the girls walking in front of them. “Told me to stop sleeping all day and spend more time with y’all for once. Suppose he wanted to get rid of me for a while.”

“Well, you have been messing up with his writing a lot recently.” Moomin noted.

Joxter didn’t say anything at that, only looking back at Moomin with a smug smile. “Anyway, where’re y’all heading?”

“We’re going to the beach to see if anything washed up after the storm.” Moomin explained, turning back to the road.

“Yaay! To the bitch!” Snufkin cheered from his arms.

Moomin and Joxter exchanged a quick confused look. They could swear they heard something wrong right there, but they dismissed it, Joxter shrugging before looking back in front of him.

They followed silently on the way to the beach, letting the girls talk together and enjoying a moment of peaceful silence between them. 

It wasn’t a long way to the beach and soon, they were there. Snorkmaiden immediately declared that they should split up and each see what they could find, only briefly acknowledging Joxter’s presence before going on her way. Moomin let down Snufkin with a quick reminder to be careful and not go too close to the water or too far from any of them before starting to walk along the water. Joxter sat down against a rock and pulled his hat over his face, leaving it up just enough to be able to keep an eye on his son as this one walked about on the beach. Alicia had followed Snorkmaiden, leaving Little My behind to do whatever the gremlin wanted to.

Little My stayed close by Snufkin, following him around but far enough that she could deny it if anyone asked if she was watching over him, not that anyone would believe what she’d pretend.

When Snufkin started to go closer to the water, she followed more closely, ready for anything. She watched closely as he looked around slowly, before something seemed to catch his eyes and he turned to her with a big and excited smile.

“I found a shit!” He exclaimed proudly as he pointed farther towards the water.

“You what??” Little My repeated, absolutely stunned.

She could see Joxter sit up in shock, ears perked at what he’d heard and looking at them with a stunned expression. Not too far, Moomin was in much the same predicament, he’d been close by, not wanting to get to far away from the baby mumrik, and had heard everything.

“A shit!” Snufkin repeated, pointing more urgently at something.

Little My finally looked at what he was pointing, half expecting to find exactly what Snufkin had said, and relaxing almost instantly as she saw the small wooden model. She made her way towards it. She examined it closely before taking it back to Snufkin.

“It’s a model of a ship.” She said, loud enough so Joxter and Moomin would hear it. “Not a shit, a shiP” She repeated, making sure to mark the difference between the two pronunciations for the small child, guessing that he just said it wrong.

“A shit!” Snufkin repeated again.

“ShiP”

“Shit?”

She had a sudden urge to laugh at her baby brother’s misspelling. She could see Moomin, mortified, from where she was, which made it even harder for her not to burst out laughing. Joxter was much the same as Moomin, although he did look like he could start laughing at any second as well.

Snufkin looked at her in confusion and at them, oblivious to his mistake. He was about to question Little My when Joxter came around. He took the little ship from Little My as she did her best to stop herself from laughing, failing miserably as she had to put a paw on her mouth to muffle her laughter.

“You’re the one who found it, you should be the one to have it.” He said as he handed the model ship to Snufkin who took it happily, his dark eyes lighting up as he got to examine closely the ship. “You did a good job.” Joxter praised him, running a paw through his hair as he giggled.

“Oh, shit, oh fuck.” Little My panted, out of breath from laughing so much and forced to silence it.

“Fuck?” The little Snufkin repeated confusedly, looking at her and back at Joxter who’d frozen at her words, shooting a glare at her, glare that she smugly ignored as she started to laugh maniacally again, not even trying to muffle it this time as she collapse on the sand, grabbing her belly and kicking her legs in the air.

“Don’t worry about that.” Joxter said to Snufkin, still glaring at her. 

Snufkin looked between them and to Moomin who was making his way towards them now, confused and searching for some explanation. Then, Snufkin yawned loudly again, little fangs in full display, and eyes watering.

Moomin and Joxter looked at each others, seemingly thinking the same thing, before they ushered Snufkin where Joxter had been resting, letting him know that he could lay down and take a nap if he wanted. It was no surprise for any of them that he waited for Joxter to sit back down to climb in his lap and lay there, curled up, the model ship left on the sand beside them, and closed his eyes to rest.

Joxter nodded to Moomin as this one silently questioned him, before he drew back down his hat, arms folded behind his head as he settled to take a nap as well.

Moomin sighed, looking at the little ball of green fabric and fur that was his baby friend. He smiled fondly, taking a moment to enjoy the sight of Snufkin and his father, resting with each other, before turning back to Little My. He went to her to scold her but she saw him come and quickly stuck her tongue out at him before running off laughing, making him follow after her.

The day passed by quickly as they ran around the beach, Snufkin and Joxter staying together to nap most of the time, Joxter following Snufkin around the beach now and then when this one would wake up with a burst of energy and start looking around the beach again for other lost items washed up by the storm.

In the end, Snorkmaiden didn’t find anything of value, no pearl necklace for her this time, and the only thing worth anything turned out to be the little model ship that Snufkin had found.

As they made their way back to Moominhouse, Alicia waving at them as she decided it was time to head back home to study, a dark figure appeared behind them, flying towards the valley, over the sea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this new chapter!
> 
> I'm sorry it took a long time, AGAIN, but I'm still having some troubles with motivation and stuff in my life so I can't guaranty when I'll post anything. But I AM working on the next chapter!
> 
> I hope it wasn't too obvious how much trouble I had with this chapter in the way it's written ^^'
> 
> The part where Snufkin curses was more of a challenge to me. I had a talk with my friends on discord and I don't remember how but I said I would make baby Snufkin curse because of it haha. I hope it was good for you ;P


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom! Here is more!
> 
> We're finally going somewhere!

The next day started slowly, Snufkin and Joxter were still asleep on the couch, not having moved since the previous night, Snufkin’s boat set on the table next to them. MoominMamma walked by quietly, not wanting to wake them or anyone else in the house, as it was quite early and everyone was still sleeping.

She couldn’t help but stop to stroke the baby angel mumrik’s hair, smiling fondly as his purrs got louder, his sleepy head snuggling against her paw. She had to muffle her chuckles as Snufkin whined in his sleep when she retreated her paw, head lifting slightly to follow it. She watched as he settled back down, snuggling deeper against Joxter’s chest, and waited for him to still again before making her way to the kitchen.

She was just done preparing the pancakes when she noticed a red haired figure approaching the house. She wiped her paws on her apron, taking the plate to the dining room to rest on the table, before making her way to the front door.

“Good Morning, Alicia.” She greeted quietly, ushering her inside and in the dining room.

“Good Morning, MoominMamma.” Alicia replied with a smile as she was pushed into a chair and served a plate of pancakes. “I have good news for everyone today.” She said, her smile getting wider.

“Oh, really?” MoominMamma perked up, smiling back at her. “That’s good. I suppose you’ll want to have everyone here before talking about it?” It was more a suggestion than a question but Alicia nodded. “I’ll go wake them up then.” MoominMamma announced before making her way out, leaving Alicia to help herself with the food.

“Joxter, Snufkin.” She said softly, gently putting her paws on the two mumriks. “It’s time to wake up. The pancakes are ready.” She smiled fondly again as she watched their ears perk up.

Joxter opened one eye, looking up at her with a soft smile. Snufkin, him, didn’t seem to agree with them, snuggling closer, again, to his father. He whined softly as Joxter moved to sit up, cradling his little angel son in his arms.

“Wakey sweety.” He whispered in his hair as MoominMamma left to go wake up the others. “You must be hungry too, little kitten.” He nuzzled his hair. “Come on, time to wake up.”

Snufkin made complaining noises, his grip on his father’s smock tightening. Joxter ruffled his hair gently to force him to wake up, chuckling at the small groan of his cute son. Then, Joxter stilled, ears perking, as a rumbling came from his son. He laughed as Snufkin buried his face further into him in embarrassment at the treason of his stomach.

“Alright,” Joxter said with big smile as he got up, lifting Snufkin with him, “Time to go eat.”

As he made his way to the dining room, he saw a little gremlin running by, soon followed by a groggy Moomin and a thoughtful MoominPappa. He smiled at MoominMamma as she came behind them and let himself be lead to the table, the sweet scent of freshly baked pancakes filling the air and making his own stomach rumble in anticipation.

Breakfast was quick and peaceful, everyone enjoying silently their plates. They all waited to be done eating before Alicia could tell them about the “good news” that she’d told MoominMamma about. 

There was a certain tension in the air as they all sat in the living room, all tense with all the possibilities going through their mind. The only one that seemed unphased by it all was the little Snufkin, curled up on his father’s lap and peacefully dozing off.

“Grandma came back last night.” Alicia finally broke the silence.

“Did she found anything?” Moomin asked immediately, before anyone else could.

“Yes.” Alicia nodded proudly. “She found out the cure.”

“Really?” Little My jumped to her feet, still perched on the table in front of the girl.

“Yes.” Alicia nodded again.

“What is it?” Joxter asked nervously.

“She said it’s just a potion.” Alicia said, pausing for a moment to study the Joxter’s face and Snufkin before continuing. “She said it needs some special elements to work but that it should already be done.”

“What is it?” Moomin pushed.

“I don’t know.” She shook her head, shrugging. “She didn’t tell me everything. But, she did tell me that it wasn’t something to worry about. She said the potion should work. She also mentioned a spell that she could cast to help increase the chances of it working.”

“So,” Joxter started nervously looking down at the little angel curled on his lap, snoring softly against him, “It should work, is what you’re saying?” 

“I trust my grandmother.” She said with confidence. “She wouldn’t say that it will work if she didn’t think it will. And she mentioned that spell too! I’m sure she’s already preparing everything and she’ll cast the spell, then everything will be alright!”

There was a long silence after that, an anxious feeling filling everyone for a moment. They all took some time to study Alicia, examining her determined expression in search of any lies. After a moment, when they couldn’t find any, they relaxed a little.

“So, what is the Witch doing anyway? Why isn’t she here with you to give him the potion?” Little My huffed, breaking the silence. “She could have told us all that herself!”

“She said she needed time to prepare everything.” Alicia explained. “She was exhausted when she came back yesterday so she didn’t have the energy to prepare the potion and the spell. I’ll go back home and I’ll come back with her when she’s done.”

“Aw.” Snorkmaiden, who’d come over before the young witch could tell the news to everyone, whined, a little disappointed. “I thought you’d play with us some more today.”

“I’m sorry.” Alicia shook her head. “Now that grandma is back I’ll have to return to my studies. Don’t worry, I’ll still come over to make sure everything is alright and play with you all.” She reassured. “Grandma probably won’t want to come check on Snufkin herself so I’m sure she won’t mind me coming here once or twice.” She smiled.

“Did she say anything else on the potion and its effects?” MoominMamma asked calmly, redirecting the attention on the important subject. “Does she know how long it will take for her to make it and how long it will need to get him back to normal?”

“She didn’t say anything.” Alicia shook her head again. “I suppose she’ll tell everyone when she’ll be done making the potion.” She shrugged. “Anyway, I should get going now. She allowed me to stay a while but she said she had homeworks for me. I should go home. Thank you for the delicious breakfast MoominMamma.” She said as she stood up. “I’ll be back with Grandma when she’s done with the potion.”

“Of course.” MoominMamma smiled warmly at her. “You’ll always be welcome to come back for more. And you could invite your grandmother too.”

“I will try to ask her but I’m sure she’ll be too proud to accept.” Alicia laughed. “I’ll get going now. Bye everyone.” She waved as she made her way out, everyone saying their goodbyes from their seat.

There was a new moment of silence as they all watched her walk down the path and passed the bridge, the only noise being the clatters of plates as MoominMamma assembled everything to go wash them.

“Well, looks like we were all worried for nothing.” MoominPappa laughed, breaking the silence and drawing everyone’s attention on him. “Guess we should just have trusted the Witch from the beginning.”

“But we don’t even know if it will work!” Little My pointed out. “And she didn’t say when she’s going to come back!”

“Hm, it’s not wrong Little My, but we still know that there is a way to cure him now.” MoominMamma pointed out calmly, making her way back to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

“Anyway, what about you kids go play outside for a while?” MoominPappa offered as he stood up, re-adjusting his hat on his head.

“We probably shouldn’t go too far from the house.” Moomin pondered. “Just in case she comes back before we get home.”

“Joxter,” MoominPappa stared at the Joxter, “You keep an eye on them.”

Joxter huffed, knowing that he just wanted to make sure he wouldn’t come bother him while he was writing, but nodded. “Sure, whatever.” He shrugged, his paw absently running through Snufkin’s hair and making him purr quietly.

“No fun.” Little My mumbled, climbing on the couch next to Joxter.

“Let’s go play outside then.” Snorkmaiden said cheerfully, getting up from her chair. “Come on.”

Moomin stood up as well, following her as they walked towards the door but stopping when he noticed that Little My wasn’t following. He looked over just in time to see Little My climb on Joxter’s lap and shake her little brother’s shoulders.

“Wake up, Snufkin!” She exclaimed, not too loud as she usually would but loud enough to make her sibling jump at the sound of her voice close to his ears. “Time to go play outside! You slept enough!”

“Leave him be Little My.” Joxter scolded, barely able to keep himself from hissing at her as he knew she didn’t plan on doing anything wrong to him, she just wanted him to wake up so they could play and she could spend more time with him.

Snufkin whined, curling up on himself more and burying his face into his father’s stomach. Little My kept shaking him, despite Joxter’s warning, until Snufkin finally opened his eyes and looked at her, face still buried into Joxter’s stomach.

“Come on, bro.” She pushed, poking at him gently but insistently. “You can’t sleep all day, you’ll end up like Joxter.”

“What’s wrong with me sleeping all day?” Joxter mumbled as he wrapped his arms around Snufkin to stop Little My from touching him.

Little My stared up at him with a smug smile. She stayed like that for a moment before finally looking back down at her baby brother, still tightly holding onto Joxter and yawning, tiny baby fangs on full display.

“Come on now!” She said, tugging Snufkin’s shirt gently. “You’re awake now anyway. Let’s go do some exercise. Come on. You can sleep after.”

Snufkin looked at her for a moment, then turned to look up at his father. His eyes were sleepy and he looked like would fall back to sleep immediately if Little My didn’t keep making noises. Joxter smiled at him softly. Snufkin stayed like that for a moment, staring up at his father, before yawning and stretching. He sat up on his father’s lap and rubbed at his eyes to try and rub the sleepiness away.

Little My grinned in victory, a big and toothy grin. She hopped back down the couch and made her way towards the front door before turning back.

“Come on! We don’t have all day.” She called as Snufkin slowly crawled out of Joxter’s lap. “You too, lazy bones!” She pointed at Joxter. “You’ll be our toy!” She stated mischievously before running out laughing.

Joxter could only chuckle, watching Snufkin looking between where his sister had been just a moment ago and his father in confusion. He stood up, stretching his arms, and went after Little My, followed quickly by his son at his feet, a small paw gripping the fabric of his pants to keep up pace.

The children spent almost a full day outside, playing tag and hide and seek. Little My quickly showed what she’d meant by saying that Joxter was their toy by having him climb in a tree and rest on one of the lower branches, tail dangling off in front of them, and show Snufkin how to play a game of “Try to catch the tail”. She showed him how to do it, jumping up and taking a bite of the tail, laughing maniacally when Joxter made a pained face and muffled a pained noise, while Snufkin watched curiously, tail already swaying in excitement. 

By the end of the afternoon, Joxter’s tail was covered in bite marks and little claw marks, long gone numb and hanging limply off the tree branch, only slightly flicking now and then to keep the child interested and focused on it.

“Shouldn’t you stop that?” Moomin asked from where he was sitting in the grass with Snorkmaiden, making a small flower crown with the flowers he could find around.

“It looks quite painful.” Snorkmaiden agreed, making her own crown next to Moomin.

“Nah.” Little My shrugged, answering for Joxter. “It’s a traditional game for a mumrik.” She pointed out. “It serves to teach them how to hunt for food.” She explained proudly.

“As much as it is true,” The Joxter started, flicking his tail again as a small Snufkin jumped up to try and catch the tail with his teeth and missed, “It’s not supposed to be with the teeth. And you’re not a mumrik like us, nor a kid.” He pointed out, wincing as Snufkin jumped again and bit on the end of his tail.

Little My didn’t say anything in return, simply giving him a wide, smug, grin. Joxter huffed quietly, looking away from her.

As he looked away, he suddenly perked up, ignoring the pain in his tail and the teeth still biting it. He sat up, like a cat on his tree branch, and stared at something to the side.

Everyone looked at him puzzled for a moment, wondering what had taken him, until their eyes followed his and they saw what he was looking at.

Down towards the bridge, on the path leading towards the Moomins house, was Alicia, accompanied by her grandmother, flying next to her on her broom. Alicia was carrying a small bag on her shoulder, containing what they all hoped was the cure for Snufkin’s condition.

The Witch huffed as she looked over to them while Alicia just waved happily. They made their way to them and greeted the group. Alicia explained that it’d taken her grandmother longer than she’d thought but that she’d finally finished preparing the potion and already casted the spell on the potion to make sure it has the best chances of succeeding. The Witch, as usually for her, grunted as her granddaughter spoke, annoyed to have to admit that she’d taken longer than she’d thought and to have had to help them in general.

Moomin quickly invited them inside, calling out to MoominMamma as he went, followed by everyone else, Snufkin still holding onto his father’s tail with his teeth as this one, carefully, got down his tree and started after them, making sure not to make his son fall.

Everyone was assembled in the living room once again, gathered around the Witch and Alicia and waiting nervously for her to talk.

“You’re really lucky that I took it on me to help you.” The Witch started immediately towards them, but mostly looking at the Joxter. “It was hard to find anyone who knew about this kind of curse, even harder to find anyone that had any idea or knowledge on how to cure it.” She huffed again, crossing her arms. “You’re even more lucky that I found someone that could help with that and teach me the way to make the right potion and the right spell to use to increase its chances of success.”

“So it will work, right?” Little My asked, a little skeptical. 

“I can’t tell that it will work right away.” The Witch warned, huffing in annoyance at Little My. “But, it’s the only cure I found and from what my acquaintance said it should work. It might take some times, but if you’re as lucky as you’ve been so far, for having me help you, it will work quickly.”

“How long will it take?” Little My pushed.

“Who knows.” The Witch shrugged. “It could takes days, maybe weeks, as well as it could work over a night. It will depends on how lucky you’ll be.”

“So it could not even work for months?!” Little My exclaimed, throwing her arms over her head in frustration. “I thought you said you’d find something that would work!”

“Now, you calm down, young girl.” The Witch warned, a wave of hurt and embarrassment flashing on her face. “I went out of my way to find a cure for this boy and avoid his father doing something he’d regret, you should show me some respect. It wasn’t easy, you know. I had to travel for a long time and really far away to find this potion. I didn’t had to. I could have left you deal with it alone.”

“We know.” MoominMamma intervened before Little My could say anything, throwing her a scolding look to make sure she wouldn’t say anything else that could hurt anyone’s feelings. “We’re really grateful for everything you’ve done for us. Really.”

“Anyway,” The Witch coughed, trying to ignore Alicia’s glare and pout. “Here is the potion.” She gestured to Alicia who quickly pulled out of the bag a bottle of some strange pink liquid. “You’ll have to make sure that this boy takes a glass of it at the same time every day until he gets back to normal. I’d advise you to give him a glass during dinner today and give him every day at that time from then on. Like I said, I cannot guarantee that it will work right away. It could very well work immediately and you’ll have him back to normal tomorrow when you all will wake up, or you could as well have him stay like this for a few more weeks. I cannot predict this. But, I will say that it shouldn’t take too long with the help of the spell that I casted on it.”

“So, all he has to do is drink this weird pink potion every day at dinner and he’ll get back to normal?” Moomin asked absently, leaning forward to get a better look at the bottle.

“That’s what I said, yes. Good job, you have good ears.” The Witch mocked.

“That’s wonderful!” Snorkmaiden said happily, clasping her paws together in delight. “He won’t have to go through anything bad! Thank you so much!”

“Yes. Thank you.” MoominMamma agreed nodding sagely as she took the bottle from Alicia’s hands. “We’ll make sure he takes it everyday. And I have the feeling it will work fine very soon.”

“You seem quite sure for someone that isn’t a witch.” The Witch mumbled to herself, earning herself a strange smile from MoominMamma. She then coughed and started again.  
“Now, we should get going. We only came here to deliver the potion after all. And I know someone that has a lot of work to do.” She looked over at Alicia with a smug smile. “She will come back in a few days to see the evolution of things, if the potion already worked or not.”

“Can we offer you anything before you go?” MoominMamma offered kindly.

“I cannot think of anything goody goodies like you could offer me.” The Witch replied, not unkindly, obviously trying to not look interested and touched by the offer.

“Alright.” MoominMamma, unphased, nodded. “Well, if you think of anything, we will be there.” 

“Whatever.” The Witched turned around, ready to leave and trying to avoid any of them seeing her embarrassment. “We’ll get going then.”

“Goodbye, everyone.” Alicia said as she followed her grandmother out, waving at them. “Thank you for having me here.”

“It was nothing. You’re free to come by whenever you want, the both of you.” MoominMamma waved back.

After that, the rest of the evening was quiet. They ate not long after the Witch left, made sure Snufkin got his glass of potion, which he seemed to dislike as he pulled a face after he drank it, sticking his tongue out in dislike and shaking his head, which made everyone at the table laugh, and Moomin blush.

After that, they quickly went to bed, tired from the day and eager to get to a new day and see if anything would change over the night. Snufkin, that had passed all this time clinging to his father, decided that he wanted to spend some time with Moomin, making his way to him and tugging at the fur on his leg, looking up at him with pleading eyes. Moomin quickly picked on and took him in his arms. With that, Snufkin and Moomin went to bed, leaving Joxter, who’s tail had been cleaned and bandaged by MoominMamma, to sleep alone in the guest bedroom, Snufkin’s boat safely put away on top of a drawer.

And so, that was the end of a eventful day after a long wait for anything coming from the Witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was slightly longer than the others and the next one might (or not idk I have yet to write it) might be longer as well.
> 
> The Witch is a good person but she'll never admit it or let anyone think of it in front of her ;) although everyone knows.
> 
> Will Snufkin come back to normal soon? will it take more time than they all hopes. You'll know... In the next chapter! ;D


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fluff, a shit ton of fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here comes a big chapter :3
> 
> It's a long chapter but it's the end so why not? I didn't proofread it because it's late and I'm tired but it's done and I wanted to post it. (also I'm lazy ;P)
> 
> Be prepared for blushing, a lot of blushing, and a lot of fluff.
> 
> Enjoy!

He was so comfortable, face flushed against something fluffy and soft, warm. He really didn’t want to move. His mind was fuzzy with sleep, he wasn’t sure what had happened or where he was right now, but he knew one thing, he was against something really comfortable and he didn’t want to move yet to figure out what it was or where he was.

He wanted to go back to sleep, but as he kept his eyes closed, pressing his face deeper in the fluff, things finally came back to him. It hit him like a bullet. Flashes of everything that had happened the last months.

He shot up in bed, leaving the comfort of Moomin’s arms and startling him awake. Snufkin quickly put his paws over his face, tail wrapped around himself and bouncing up and down in embarrassment.

Moomin sat up groggily in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It took him a moment to realise what was happening. When he finally did, he sat straight up, eyes wide, gaping at Snufkin next to him.

“S- Snufkin!” Moomin exclaimed in shocked disbelief. “You- You’re back to normal!”

Moomin’s face was turning red as he spoke, realizing with embarrassment that they’d been cuddling in their sleep and that Snufkin must have woken up in his arms. The thought of Snufkin remembering everything that had happened and how he’d been acting around him almost killing him on the spot.

They stayed quiet for a shocked moment, Snufkin hiding his burning face in his paws and Moomin staring at him with wide eyes, his face and ears red as well. Moomin was split between the embarrassment and the joy and relief of seeing his friend back to normal again, and so soon.

“I- I’m glad to see you back to normal.” Moomin stammered, trying to find his words and to ignore the embarrassing situation. “Are you- Are you feeling alright?”

Snufkin nodded, still not moving his paws off his face. Moomin continued to stare at him, trying to figure out what to do next.

“D- Do you remember what happened?” Moomin asked, watching as Snufkin nodded once again. Moomin fell silent again, a long heavy silence, before he finally got over his embarrassment. “Do you need anything? Are you thirsty?”

The sudden change in Moomin’s demeanor seemed to surprise Snufkin enough that he finally lifted his head from his paws to look at Moomin in surprised confusion.

“Uh- Hm- No. Thank you. I’m fine.” He stammered, still red in the face. “I- I’m sorry for all the trouble we caused.” He continued, turning away in embarrassment and guilt. “Thank you for all you’ve done for us.”

“It was nothing!” Moomin exclaimed a little too loud, making Snufkin jump and turn back to stare at him. “I- Sorry.” He said sheepishly. “It was nothing at all. You’re our friend, you’re part of the family, it was only normal to help.” 

“Still.” Snufkin mumbled, looking down at his paws. “You shouldn’t have had to deal with this situation. I’ll do everything to repay you for everything.” He said solemnly. 

“You have nothing to repay us for.” Moomin quickly replied, shaking his head. “It was only natural to help. You’re m- our friend.”

“Still, I caused you too much troubles.” Snufkin sighed, still refusing to look at Moomin. “I’ll go set my tent.” He said, going to stand.

“W- Wait!” Moomin grabbed Snufkin’s wrist, pulling him back down on the bed. “You can stay here. It’s fine. And…” Moomin hesitated, loosening his grip a little while looking away, his face and ears turning red again. “I- Hm… You were a really cute child.” 

Snufkin, who’d turned to stare at him after being grabbed, felt his face heat up as he looked at the young troll in disbelief.

“I- We were all worried about you and if we could get you back to normal before it was too late you know. I’m glad we didn’t have to make you go through anything bad again.” Moomin took a deep breath. “I’m really happy to have seen you like that, so happy and alive. I’m glad you trusted me even in this situation.”

“I- You’re easy to trust.” Snufkin mumbled, looking at Moomin’s paw around his wrist. “I’m sorry, though, I’ve been asking for quite the attention.” He laughed nervously.

“You’re really cute.” Moomin said without thinking. Snufkin looked up at him, staring in disbelief, not sure if he had heard right, as Moomin realized what he’d just said and slowly turned as red as a tomato. “I- I mean! You were really cute as a child!” He tried to correct himself before looking quickly away as he realized that it didn’t really made it sound that different and embarrassing.

“Do you mean it?” Snufkin asked in a quiet whisper, almost afraid of the question.

Moomin, deciding that he’d already showed and said too much, looked up at Snufkin with determination, still red faced.

“Of course!” He said seriously. “You are the most beautiful person I know and you were a really cute, adorable, child!” He took a deep breath before he finally decided to confess what he’d always wanted to say. “I- I love you, so much. You’re such an amazing person, so smart and clever, even as a child! I don’t know why you decided to trust me as friend, me, a simple, silly, troll, and I know I don’t deserve you, but I’m so happy you trusted me enough to come to me even in this situation when you wanted some company or attention.”

Snufkin, at this point, was staring at Moomin with face and ears totally red as well, eyes wide and surprised. He tried to say something a few times, but his mouth wouldn’t allow any sound to come out in his shock. He tried to take a deep breath before trying again.

“I- I think I love you too.” He mumbled, too embarrassed to talk properly. He shook his head before continuing, this time with more resolve. “I love you too and you’re much more than a simple troll! You’re an amazing friend as well and I can’t believe that you actually trust someone like me, a tramp, a dirty traveler that cannot even stay for a full year with you no matter how much you plead. I’m the one that doesn’t deserve you! You’re such a kind, gentle person. You’re the first one to have ever been nice to me.” Snufkin admitted, looking down a little sadly. “I’ll never be able to thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me over the years.”

“It’s not true!” Moomin contested, pulling Snufkin into a hug and squeezing him in his arms as he talked in his ears. “You don’t have to do anything for me because you’ve already done so much. I can’t even tell how many times you’ve saved us before!” He chuckled. “You’re not a tramp and you’re not dirty.” He continued, pulling back to look at him in the eyes with intensity. “You’re everything to me and I couldn’t imagine a life without you in it. It doesn’t matter that you don’t stay a full year, I know how much you need to travel, it’s in your nature, you said it yourself. Of course, I’ll always be sad to see you leave but it only makes me even happier when I see you back on the first day of spring. It’s always the best thing to wake up to your song.” He smiled as he pulled back Snufkin into another hug.

“I can’t believe it took me to get turned into a child for us to confess.” Snufkin chuckled slightly into Moomin’s shoulder. “Little My as been giving me hell with how obvious she said I was and how oblivious we were with each others.”

“I know.” Moomin chuckled as well. “She’s been doing the same with me, although I’m sure she’s been less annoying with you because you’re her brother. She’s always mocking me because she knows I’ve been in love with you for so long and she said we were oblivious and we should just talk about it. I guess we, maybe, should have listened before.” 

The boys laughed together at that, agreeing that they probably should have known about each other’s feelings before with how obvious they’ve been.

“I think I’ll miss seeing you so small and asking me to pick you up.” Moomin teased with a bright smile as they finally let go of each other, leaning against each other to touch noses. “So small and adorable. Oh, and how you threw your arms up every times you wanted me to pick you up. I hope you’ll at least let me carry you again, and hug you more often.”

“Sh- Shut it.” Snufkin mumbled, embarrassed. “I’ll think about it. Maybe I’ll allow you a hug or two.” 

“How should we tell the others.” Moomin pondered, leaning back and taking Snufkin’s paws in his owns to squeeze them tenderly. “Little My will give us so much over it.” He chuckled. “We’ll never hear the end of it.

“Maybe we should wait a little.” Snufkin thought aloud, elaborating when Moomin tilted his head in question. “I just came back to normal.” He explained. “I think there’ll be already so much to talk about, it might just not be the right time to announce it.”

“You’re probably right.” Moomin nodded in agreement. “I didn’t think about that.”

As if to call them, the smell of freshly baked pancakes filled the room. The only scent sent their stomach rumbling. They looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

“We should probably head down to show Mamma and the others that you’re back to normal.” Moomin said with a smiled and a squeeze on his friends paws. “Mamma will be so happy. Oh! And your father! He’ll be so relieved! He’s been so worried about you!”

“Yeah.” Snufkin nodded thoughtfully. 

“Is something wrong?” Moomin asked, seeing that something was bothering his friend.

“No, no.” Snufkin shook his head, smiling gently at him. “I was just thinking that I should have a talk with my father about all this. You know, make sure he isn’t, still, blaming himself about it.”

Moomin nodded understandingly. They stayed like that, paws in paws and smiling at each other before Moomin finally pulled them out of bed. They made they way down the stair, having yet to let go of the other’s paw, and walked to the kitchen.

Nobody seemed to be awake aside from them and MoominMamma, who was cooking in the kitchen as they walked in. She turned to them as they came in, her paws coming to cover her mouth as she gasped in delight when she saw Snufkin.

“Snufkin!” She exclaimed in disbelief. “Oh! I’m so glad to see you back.” She said as she pulled him into a hug, slowly enough for him to refuse the affection if he wanted. “How are you feeling? Do you remember what happened?”

“I’m fine. I remember everything.” Snufkin said as he hugged her back. “Thank you for taking care of me. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“Nonsense, dear, it wasn’t any inconvenience. I’m glad we got to take care of such a cute kid as you were.” She smiled as she pulled back, cupping his cheeks gently. “It was nothing at all. Oh! Your father is going to be so relieved.”

“Mamma.” Moomin interrupted. “I think the pancakes are burning.” 

“Oh dear.” MoominMamma quickly went back to the stove to resume her cooking, flipping the pancakes before it could be too burnt. “It wouldn’t do to have burnt pancakes on such a beautiful day, would it?” She chuckled. “Moomin, dear, would you be kind enough to go wake up the others and tell them breakfast is nearly ready?”

“Yes, Mamma.” Moomin nodded, squeezing gently Snufkin’s paw in his before letting go and hurrying out of the room.

“Snufkin, dear, would you mind bringing the jam jar to the table?” Mamma asked gently, knowing that he wouldn’t mind and would be happy to help with anything.

“Of course, Mamma.” He nodded, hurrying to get the jam out and to the table.

MoominMamma stopped for a second as she realized that Snufkin had called her Mamma when he usually always called her MoominMamma. She smiled fondly, emotion almost bringing tears to her eyes. She quickly composed herself before Snufkin came back in the room as she put the last of the pancakes on the pile, turning off the stove.

As she took the plate of pancakes and made her way to the dining room, followed by Snufkin, they could hear noises from up the stairs. Soon, a hungry Little My came sliding down the stairs railing, she ran past them to get to her sit at the table, ready for her breakfast. MoominPappa soon followed, coming slowly down the stairs, greeting his wife and Snufkin, getting a quick hug from the young mumrik, telling him that he was happy to see him back to normal.

Then, as MoominMamma and MoominPappa disappeared into the dining room, Snufkin stopped, waiting for something. He looked at the stairs nervously, tail flicking now and again. Moomin was the next one to appear, smiling knowingly at him as he came down, he quickly gave a hug to the mumrik before leaving him to go after his parents, knowing that he should leave him in private for what was about to come.

Finally, Joxter made his way down the stairs groggily. When he noticed Snufkin, he hurried a little more. He made his way in front of his son. They just stood there for a moment, staring at each other nervously. Then, Joxter pulled Snufkin into his arms, holding him tightly for a moment.

He let go of him after a moment, smiling at him a awkwardly. Without a word, they made their way to the dining room. They knew they’d need to talk but for now it was time for a delicious breakfast.

They joined everyone at the table where they took their seat. MoominMamma had already served everyone, putting a plate for them at their place. Little My was already gulping down her plate, still not showing any sign of acknowledgment of Snufkin’s return.

“Hey, Snufkin?” Little My suddenly called, barely swallowing what was in her mouth before talking and breaking the silence. “What will you do with your shit?” She smirked.

Snufkin blushed, annoyed and embarrassed that Little My remembered that and was using it now. He ignored her, trying to focus on eating his food. Moomin, next to him, glared at Little My disapprovingly. She wanted to say more but MoominMamma signaled her to keep quiet and not annoy her brother, to which she huffed before putting a full pancake in her mouth.

After eating, Snufkin excused himself, wanting to go set up his tent and get some time for himself. Moomin, of course, offered to help him, but Snufkin gently refused, thanking him for the offer but pointing out that after everything that had happened he could do with a moment to himself. He promised that he would spend more time with him later, however, and maybe, he whispered so only Moomin could hear, he would come find him at night so they can have some more time together under the stars.

Snufkin set up his tent and slipped inside to organise his things and take some time to think. He needed to think about everything he could remember, about how much his curse had affected everyone around him, and mostly how he could make it up to his father.

After around an hour, Snufkin heard footsteps approaching his tent. He could recognize who it was by the familiar sound of the old boots stepping on the dry path. He opened the flap of his tent to let his father in. Usually he would have preferred to be outside, but in this situation, and for a talk like this one, he felt like it would be better to have the privacy of his tent.

Joxter crawled in, sitting in front of Snufkin silently. He fidgeted awkwardly, seeming highly uncomfortable and nervous. Snufkin wasn’t sure what to do or what to say to make him feel better so he just waited for a moment, watching his father.

“I’m sorry.” Joxter finally blurted out. “I’m sorry about everything that happened. It was all my fault.” He continued when Snufkin tilted his head in confusion, raising an eyebrow. “You were right. I should have listened to you and left this witch alone. But, I didn’t listen, and you were cursed because of me.”

“It’s fine.” Snufkin tried to be reassuring, shaking his head softly. “I’m fine. It’s in the past now. And it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known it would turn out that way.”

“It’s not.” Joxter sighed, looking at the floor. “What would have happened if the Witch didn’t accept to help and didn’t find the cure or not on time? What would have happened if I had t- to abandon you to break the curse before it was too late? By my fault, by my fault you would have been hurt again.”

“But I wasn’t.” Snufkin cut his father before he could say more. He tried to soften a little to reassure him. “You took me back home and asked for help. You took care of me and made sure nothing else happened to me. I know you didn’t mean to have me cursed and that you were very upset about the only known solution to break the curse. You didn’t want to abandon me, not the first time, not now, and that means a lot to me.” He said quietly, looking at the floor of his tent with a soft smile. “And you’ve been a good father. I’m actually quite glad I got to have you be my father for a while. Not that you’re not now! But, you know, I’m too old for you to take care of me the way you did those last months.” Snufkin said, feeling his cheeks turning a light pink as embarrassment rose up.

“You wouldn’t have had to learn how to take care of yourself alone if I’d been there for you when you were young.” Joxter mumbled quietly, sadly. “A good father would have known he had a son and taken care of him from the beginning, and wouldn’t have cause his son to be cursed because of him.”

“You didn’t even know about me until MoominPappa contacted you.” Snufkin pointed out. “And MymbleMamma was sure I was dead, that’s why she didn’t tell you about me. You’d been an amazing dad if you’d known about me and if I hadn’t been lost. You proved it. And I grew up quite fine so you can stop blaming yourself for that.” Snufkin tried to sound annoyed, crossing his arms and pouting, all the while looking at everything but his father as he tried to mimic how Little My would have reacted.

Joxter smiled a little as he finally looked back up at his son, before chuckling quietly and drawing Snufkin towards him, a paw behind his head as he pulled him so as to touch foreheads. He closed his eyes as he spoke quietly.

“Thank you.” He said. “You’ve grown up quite fine, you’re right. You became quite a young lad. I’m proud of you son. But, please, don’t mimic your sister.” He laughed as he opened his eyes and grinned at his son who laughed back. “How lucky I am to have such a great son.” He nuzzled Snufkin’s hair, laughing again when this one groaned slightly. “I promise that next time, I’ll do better though.”

Snufkin hummed in acknowledgment as Joxter pulled him closer into a hug, wrapping his arms around his son’s shoulders and squeezing gently. Snufkin hugged back, leaning into his father.

“It would be nice if you didn’t get in trouble next time.” Snufkin agreed quietly, to which Joxter only chuckled.

It was a little awkward, as they’d never really hugged before. Snufkin had always been the kind to hate being touched and Joxter was very aware of it. Because of this, Joxter had always stayed a safe distance from his son, to not overwhelm him and leave him his space, despite wanting to be closer to him. They both wanted that father-son relationship, but they just didn’t knew how to approach each other.

They both jumped slightly at the sound of running footsteps and the sudden light filling the room. A pair of arms wrapping around their waist quickly after.

They both looked down in disbelief at the little mymble hugging them before looking back at each other and laughing softly as they hugged again, each of them wrapping one arm around Little My as well.

“You two are so dumb.” Little My huffed against them. “Took you long enough to act like a family.”

“You’re the one to talk.” Snufkin huffed with a smile as his father just laughed harder.

“I’m glad I won’t have to look after a feral child anymore.” Little My muttered. “Although I know someone that must have loved seeing you so small.” She smirked up at Snufkin.

“That Moomintroll of yours does care about you quite a lot.” Joxter teased lightly. “And you didn’t seem to be bothered by it either, going to him to have him carry you everywhere and enjoy his nice fluffy fur.”

Snufkin groaned again, pressing his face deeper against his father’s shoulder. He could remember very well everything and he couldn’t believe how cuddly his little self had been with the young troll.

“If you two don’t confess after that you’re really impossibly stupid.” Little My commented with a huff. “Really, it was obvious before but after that you can’t tell deny it.”

“I do agree with her on that.” Joxter nodded against Snufkin’s hair. “That troll is obviously in love with you and we all know how you feel about him too. You really should confess. You’d be much more happy that way.”

“Sh- Shut up.” Snufkin mumbled, voice muffled by the fabric of Joxter’s smock. “We already confessed.” He snapped, feeling his face burning as he felt his father and Little My straighten to look at him in disbelief.

“When!?” Little My asked loudly. “You did not! I don’t believe you!”

“It’s true. We did this morning.” Snufkin said quietly. “Moomin did…”

“What?!” Little My still could not believe it.

“Good.” Joxter smiled, nodding as he squeezed Snufkin lightly in his arms. “That’s good. You don’t have to hide your feelings for him anymore. And him for you.”

“Fucking finally!” Little My exclaimed.

“Language My.” The mumriks scolded her lightly.

“Oh, leave me alone!” Little My huffed, letting go of them and crossing her arms. “As if you don’t curse too.” She smirk mischievously. “You said it last time. You know, ‘fuck’. And ‘shit’ too! You’re beautiful little shit.” She mocked.

“S- Stop it!” Snufkin snapped, feeling like his face was the redder it’s ever been.

Joxter kept laughing as Little My recounted every little embarrassing thing Snufkin had done, even going on to tease him about how Moomin was acting towards him and how he, himself, was acting toward the troll. Snufkin had to cover his face with his paws to hide how red his cheeks were, but he couldn’t hide his ears, as red as if he’d been hit.

Snufkin spends a good part of the day with his sister and his father, talking, blushing, being embarrassed and teased. Eventually they go back to Moominhouse where they spend the rest of day with the Moomins.

That night, Snufkin, who’d gone back to his tent for the night to have some time for himself after sleeping without Joxter or Moomin for months, climbed the ladder to Moomin’s room. He lightly tapped on the window, setting a familiar rhythm, to indicate to Moomin that he wanted to hang out with him.

He took Moomin to the beach, flustered despite nobody being around as they held paws. They laid down on a blanket, that Snufkin had asked Moomin to sneak out for him, and watched the stars together.

Eventually, Moomin decided it was the perfect settings to make a better, more formal, confession of his love. He recited ev everything he loved about Snufkin and everything that had he loved about little Snufkin.

He laughed as Snufkin hid his face in his paws, ears fully red. Snufkin grumbled, clearly embarrassed from everything he’d been told as Moomin seemed to decide that he didn’t want to be embarrassed anymore.

“Yo- You can’t say those things!” Snufkin choked out, pouting as Moomin took his paws and gently pulled them away from his face, smiling lovingly at him.

“It’s not me,” Moomintroll teased lightly, laughing, “It’s my heart talking. I can’t stop it.”

He laughed more as he saw Snufkin’s already deep red cheeks turn even redder. He took his pouting face in his paws to draw Snufkin closer, leaning forehead against forehead.

“I love everything that makes you who you are. I love you so much Snuf.” He whispered tenderly.

“I love you too Moomee.” Snufkin replied, a little out of breath.

“Your eyes are much more beautiful than the stars.” Moomin grinned, knowing that he’d only make the mumrik more embarrassed. “I could get lost in their beauty.”

“I-” Snufkin tried to reply but stopped, at a lost for words. After a moment, he turned his head to look away from Moomin despite him still holding it, pouting. “Are you having fun? Are you done?”

“I’m sorry.” Moomin bursted out laughing, nuzzling Snufkin’s cheek. “It’s too tempting. And you’re so cute when you’re blushing.”

“Can we just go back to watching the stars?” Snufkin said, trying his best not to smile.

“Fine.” Moomin rolled his eyes dramatically before smiling again at Snufkin and drawing him closer again to give him a proper Moominkiss.

Eventually, the boys decided they were tired enough to go back to bed. Snufkin, although still a little embarrassed and hesitant, asked Moomin if he could stay with him that night, to which Moomin obviously beamed and accepted eagerly.

When they would wake up again in the morning, they would find themselves tangled together in bed, Moomin’s arms around Snufkin and keeping him close to his chest as his snout rested atop the mumrik’s head, Snufkin comfortably resting against the troll’s chest as their legs and tails tangled.

Little My would make fun of them for how red they would become at the mention of Snufkin staying to sleep with him when he’d said he wanted to sleep alone. She would fake gag as Moomin flirted with Snufkin openly, mainly to annoy her and make Snufkin blush again.

Joxter would watch them carefully, a little wary of Moomin as his protective side revealed itself, but staying silently watching as he knew Moomin was no threat and Snufkin could take care of himself. Joxter would stay for the rest of the year in MoominValley, following Snufkin on his yearly trip south when this one, surprisingly, offered. They would go to the Mymble’s house on the way to spend a few days with the Mymble and all the children before going back on their journey south.

And when they would return the next year, Snufkin would quickly pocket his harmonica when he’d see Moomin on the bridge and run towards him, letting him pick him up and swing him around in joy, both of them laughing happily as Joxter watched with a fond smile from up the hill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And this is it! This is the end of this fic!
> 
> Thank you all for reading it! I hope you liked it!
> 
> I had a lot of struggles with this one as I've been writing it at the same time as my mental health got worst, which made it hard to focus on writing the story, but I did it! And I loved writing it despite all the troubles I had!
> 
> Look at those silly boys, being all gay but still being super embarrassed by it. Poor Snufkin is gonna hear about it, Little My will never let him go with it.
> 
> I really hope it was good enough for you all. I will be coming back soon (very soon :3) with another fic (and more) so be on the lookout for that it you want more.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading that part. Hope you enjoyed it!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Well Deserved Nap](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23183578) by [FairyKingJack](https://archiveofourown.org/users/FairyKingJack/pseuds/FairyKingJack)


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